In the

geologic timescale The geologic time scale or geological time scale (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochron ...

, the Kungurian is an

age Age or AGE may refer to: Time and its effects * Age, the amount of time someone has been alive or something has existed ** East Asian age reckoning, an Asian system of marking age starting at 1 * Ageing or aging, the process of becoming older ...

or stage of the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...

. It is the latest or upper of four subdivisions of the

Cisuralian The Cisuralian, also known as the Early Permian, is the first series/epoch of the Permian. The Cisuralian was preceded by the Pennsylvanian and followed by the Guadalupian. The Cisuralian Epoch is named after the western slopes of the Ural Mou ...

Epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided b ...

Series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

. The Kungurian lasted between and million years ago (Ma). It was preceded by the Artinskian and followed by the

Roadian In the geologic timescale, the Roadian is an age or stage of the Permian. It is the earliest or lower of three subdivisions of the Guadalupian Epoch or Series. The Roadian lasted between and million years ago (Ma). It was preceded by the Kun ...

Stratigraphy

The Kungurian is named after the Russian city of Kungur in

Perm Krai Perm Krai (, ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a Krais of Russia, krai), located in Eastern Europe. Its administrative center is Perm, Russia, Perm. The population of the krai was 2,532,405 (2021 Russian census, 2021 ...

. The stage was introduced into scientific literature by Russian geologist Alexandr Antonovich Stukenberg (Alexander Stuckenberg) in 1890.; 2002: ''Progress report on the base of the Artinskian and base of the Kungurian by the Cisuralian Working Group'', Permophiles 41: pp 13–16. The base of the Kungurian Stage is defined as the place in the stratigraphic record where fossils of

conodont Conodonts, are an extinct group of marine jawless vertebrates belonging to the class Conodonta (from Ancient Greek κῶνος (''kōnos''), meaning " cone", and ὀδούς (''odoús''), meaning "tooth"). They are primarily known from their hard ...

species '' Neostreptognathodus pnevi'' and ''Neostreptognathodus exculptus'' first appear. As of 2009, there was no agreement yet on a global reference profile (a

GSSP A Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP), sometimes referred to as a golden spike, is an internationally agreed upon reference point on a stratigraphic section which defines the lower boundary of a stage on the geologic time scale. ...

) for the base of the Kungurian. The top of the Kungurian (the base of the Roadian and the

Guadalupian The Guadalupian is the second and middle Series (stratigraphy), series/Epoch (geology), epoch of the Permian. The Guadalupian was preceded by the Cisuralian and followed by the Lopingian. It is named after the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico an ...

series) is defined as the place in the stratigraphic record where fossils of conodont species ''

Jinogondolella ''Jinogondolella'' is an extinct genus of conodonts. Mesogondolella and Jinogondolella (Conodonta): Multielement definition of the taxa that bracket the basal Guadalupian The Guadalupian is the second and middle Series (stratigraphy), series/ ...

nanginkensis'' first appear. The Kungurian contains three conodont

biozone In biostratigraphy, biostratigraphic units or biozones are intervals of geological strata that are defined on the basis of their characteristic fossil taxon, taxa, as opposed to a Lithostratigraphy, lithostratigraphic unit which is defined by the ...

s: *zone of ''Neostreptognathodus sulcoplicatus'' *zone of ''Neostreptognathodus prayi'' *zone of ''Neostreptognathodus pnevi''

Kungurian life

The Kungurian is the last stage in which many Permo-Carboniferous clades of vertebrates (''

Seymouria ''Seymouria'' is an extinct genus of seymouriamorph from the Early Permian of North America and Europe. Although they were amphibians (in a biological sense), ''Seymouria'' were well-adapted to life on land, with many reptilian features—so ma ...

'', ophiacodontids, edaphosaurids, etc.) occur in the fossil record, and the end of this stage whitnessed one of the greatest faunal turnovers of the

. Early studies placed Olson’s Extinction just after the Kungurian, but more recent studies only indicate that this possible extinction event is located around Kungurian/

boundary. Howerver, higher-resolution stratigraphic data suggest that this even is actually a slow decline over 20 Ma that started in the Sakmarian and that may have extended into the

, with many lineages of early synapsids becoming extinct in the Kungurian. However, assessment of the exact timing of these extinctions is hampered by a gap in the fossil record of continental vertebrates in the late Kungurian, at least in Texas and Oklahoma, two states that have an unparalleled fossil record of such taxa for the early to mid-Kungurian.

References

External links

GeoWhen Database - Kungurian

Upper Paleozoic stratigraphic chart
at the website of the subcommission for stratigraphic information of the ICS {{Geological history, p, p Permian geochronology .