Thanetian

The Thanetian is, in the ICS Geologic timescale, the latest age or uppermost stratigraphic stage of the Paleocene Epoch or series. It spans the time between 59.2 and 56 Ma. The Thanetian is preceded by the Selandian age and followed by the Ypresian age (part of the Eocene). The Thanetian is sometimes referred to as the Late Paleocene sub-epoch.

Stratigraphic definition

The Thanetian was established by Swiss geologist Eugène Renevier in 1873. The Thanetian is named after the Thanet Sand Formation, the oldest Cenozoic deposit of the London Basin, which was first identified in the area of Kent (southern England) known as the Isle of Thanet.

The base of the Thanetian stage is laid at the base of magnetic chronozone C26n. The references profile (Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point) is in the Zumaia section (43° 18'N, 2° 16'W) at the beach of Itzurun, Pais Vasco, northern Spain. Fossils of the unicellular planktonic marine coccolithophore Areoligeria gippingensis ' make their first appearance at the base of the Thanetian, and help define its lowest stratigraphic boundary.