The Ladinian is a stage and age in the Middle Triassic series or

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 ...

. It spans the time between Ma and ~237 Ma (million years ago). The Ladinian was preceded by the

Anisian In the geologic timescale, the Anisian is the lower stage (stratigraphy), stage or earliest geologic age, age of the Middle Triassic series (stratigraphy), series or geologic epoch, epoch and lasted from million years ago until million years ag ...

and succeeded by the

Carnian The Carnian (less commonly, Karnian) is the lowermost stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Upper Triassic series (stratigraphy), Series (or earliest age (geology), age of the Late Triassic Epoch (reference date), Epoch). It lasted from 237 to 227.3 ...

(part of the Upper or Late Triassic). The Ladinian is coeval with the Falangian regional stage used in

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Stratigraphic definitions

The Ladinian was established by Austrian geologist Alexander Bittner in 1892. Its name comes from the Ladin people that live in the Italian

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

(in the

Dolomites The Dolomites ( ), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range in northeastern Italy. They form part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Va ...

, then part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

). The base of the Ladinian Stage is defined as the place in the stratigraphic record where the

ammonite Ammonoids are extinct, (typically) coiled-shelled cephalopods comprising the subclass Ammonoidea. They are more closely related to living octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish (which comprise the clade Coleoidea) than they are to nautiluses (family N ...

species '' Eoprotrachyceras curionii'' first appears or the first appearance of the conodont '' Budurovignathus praehungaricus''. The global reference profile for the base (the

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. ...

) is at an

outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth and other terrestrial planets. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most p ...

in the river bed of the Caffaro river at Bagolino, in the

province of Brescia The province of Brescia (; Brescian: ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. It has a population of some 1,265,964 (as of January 2019) and its capital is the city of Brescia.With an area of 4,785 km2, it is the ...

, northern

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.The GSSP was established by Brack ''et al.'' (2005) The top of the Ladinian (the base of the Carnian) is at the first appearance of ammonite species '' Daxatina canadensis''. The Ladinian is sometimes subdivided into two subages or substages, the Fassanian (early or lower) and the Longobardian (late or upper). The Ladinian contains four ammonite biozones, which are evenly distributed among the two substages: *zone of '' Frechites regoledanus'' *zone of '' Protrachyceras archelaus'' *zone of ''Protrachyceras gredleri'' *zone of ''Eoprotrachyceras curionii''

Ladinian life

Notable formations

* Upper Besano Formation (Switzerland and Italy) * Erfurt Formation / Lower Keuper (Germany) * Jilh Formation (

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

) * Meride Limestone (Switzerland and Italy) * Upper Muschelkalk (central Europe) * Perledo-Varenna Formation (Italy) * Prosanto Formation (Switzerland) * Zhuganpo Formation / Zhuganpo Member of the Falang Formation (late Ladinian - early Carnian) (

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and

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

)

References

Notes

Literature

*; 2005: ''The Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) of the Ladinian Stage (Middle Triassic) at Bagolino (Southern Alps, Northern Italy) and its implications for the Triassic time scale'', Episodes 28(4), pp. 233–244. *; 2004: ''A Geologic Time Scale 2004'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

External links

GeoWhen Database - Ladinian

Upper Triassic
an
Lower Triassic
timescales, at the website of the subcommission for stratigraphic information of the ICS *Norges Network of offshore records of geology and stratigraphy: ''Stratigraphic charts for the Triassic''

an

{{Authority control Ladinian, *02 Geological ages Triassic geochronology