The Rupelian is, 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 geoch ...

, the older of two

ages Ages may refer to: *Advanced glycation end-products, known as AGEs *Ages, Kentucky, census-designated place, United States * ''Ages'' (album) by German electronic musician Edgar Froese *The geologic time scale, a system of chronological measuremen ...

or the lower of two stages of the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but ...

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 by ...

/ Series. It spans the time between . It is preceded by the

Priabonian The Priabonian is, in the ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age or the upper stage of the Eocene Epoch or Series. It spans the time between . The Priabonian is preceded by the Bartonian and is followed by the Rupelian, the lowest stage ...

Stage (part of the Eocene) and is followed by the

Chattian The Chattian is, in the geologic timescale, the younger of two ages or upper of two stages of the Oligocene Epoch/ Series. It spans the time between . The Chattian is preceded by the Rupelian and is followed by the Aquitanian (the lowest sta ...

Stage.

Name

The stage is named after the small river Rupel in Belgium, a tributary to the

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...

. The Belgian Rupel Group derives its name from the same source. The name Rupelian was introduced in scientific literature by Belgian geologist André Hubert Dumont in 1850. The separation between the group and the stage was made in the second half of the 20th century, when stratigraphers saw the need to distinguish between

lithostratigraphic Lithostratigraphy is a sub-discipline of stratigraphy, the geological science associated with the study of strata or rock layers. Major focuses include geochronology, comparative geology, and petrology. In general, strata are primarily igneous ...

and chronostratigraphic names.

Stratigraphic definition

The base of the Rupelian Stage (which is also the base of the Oligocene Series) is at the

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds ( taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed ...

of the foraminiferan

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

'' Hantkenina''. An official

GSSP A Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) is an internationally agreed upon reference point on a stratigraphic section which defines the lower boundary of a stage on the geologic time scale. The effort to define GSSPs is conducted ...

for the base of the Rupelian has been assigned in 1992 ( Massignano, Italy). The transition with the Chattian has also been marked with a GSSP in August 2017 (

Monte Conero Monte Conero () or Mount Conero, also known as Monte d'Ancona (Mount of Ancona), is a promontory in Italy, situated directly south of the port of Ancona on the Adriatic Sea. The name ''Conero'' comes from the Greek name (''Kómaros'') and ind ...

, Italy). The top of the Rupelian Stage (the base of the Chattian) is at the extinction of the foram genus ''Chiloguembelina'' (which is also the base of foram

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

P21b). The Rupelian overlaps the

Orellan The Orellan North American Stage on 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 chronostrat ...

, Whitneyan and lower

Arikareean The Arikareean North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 30,600,000 to 20,800,000 years BP, a period of . It is usual ...

North American Land Mammal Ages The North American land mammal ages (NALMA) establishes a geologic timescale for North American fauna beginning during the Late Cretaceous and continuing through to the present. These periods are referred to as ages or intervals (or stages when re ...

, the upper Mustersan and

Tinguirirican The Tinguirirican ( es, Tinguiririquense) age is a period of geologic time (36.0–29.0 Ma) within the Late Eocene and Early Oligocene epochs of the Paleogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification in South America. It follows th ...

South American Land Mammal Ages The South American land mammal ages (SALMA) establish a geologic timescale for prehistoric South American fauna beginning 64.5 Ma during the Paleocene and continuing through to the Late Pleistocene (0.011 Ma). These periods are referred to as age ...

, the uppermost Headonian, Suevian and lower Arvernian

European Land Mammal Mega Zone The European Land Mammal Mega Zones (abbreviation: ELMMZ, more commonly known as European land mammal ages or ELMA) are zones in rock layers that have a specific assemblage of fossils ( biozones) based on occurrences of fossil assemblages of Europ ...

s (the Rupelian spans the

Mammal Paleogene zones The Mammal Paleogene zones or MP zones are system of biostratigraphic zones in the stratigraphic record used to correlate mammal-bearing fossil localities of the Paleogene period of Europe. It consists of thirty consecutive zones (numbered MP 1 ...

21 through 24 and part of 25), and the lower Hsandgolian Asian Land Mammal Age. It is also coeval with the only regionally used upper Aldingan and lower Janjukian stages of Australia, the upper Refugian and lower Zemorrian stages of California and the lower Kiscellian

Paratethys The Paratethys sea, Paratethys ocean, Paratethys realm or just Paratethys was a large shallow inland sea that stretched from the region north of the Alps over Central Europe to the Aral Sea in Central Asia. Paratethys was peculiar due to its p ...

stage of Central and eastern Europe. Other regionally used alternatives include the Stampian, Tongrian, Latdorfian and Vicksburgian.

References

Literature

* ; 1850: ''Rapport sur la carte géologique du Royaume'', Bulletins de l’Académie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique 16(2), p. 351-373. * ; 2004: ''A Geologic Time Scale 2004'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambr ...

External links

GeoWhen Database - Rupelian

Neogene timescale (including the upper Paleogene)
an
Paleogene timescale
at the website of the subcommission for stratigraphic information of the ICS
Stratigraphic chart of the Paleogene
at the website of Norges Network of offshore records of geology and stratigraphy {{Geological history, p, c Oligocene geochronology Geological ages