Danian | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chronology | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Formerly part of | Tertiary Period/System | ||||||||||||
Etymology | |||||||||||||
Name formality | Formal | ||||||||||||
Usage information | |||||||||||||
Celestial body | Earth | ||||||||||||
Regional usage | Global (ICS) | ||||||||||||
Time scale(s) used | ICS Time Scale | ||||||||||||
Definition | |||||||||||||
Chronological unit | Age | ||||||||||||
Stratigraphic unit | Stage | ||||||||||||
Time span formality | Formal | ||||||||||||
Lower boundary definition | Iridium enriched layer associated with a major meteorite impact and subsequent K–Pg extinction event[3] | ||||||||||||
Lower boundary GSSP | El Kef Section, El Kef, Tunisia 36°09′13″N 8°38′55″E / 36.1537°N 8.6486°E[3] | ||||||||||||
Lower GSSP ratified | 1991[3] | ||||||||||||
Upper boundary definition | Onset of sea-level drop and carbon isotope shift | ||||||||||||
Upper boundary GSSP | Zumaia Section, Basque Country, Spain 43°17′57″N 2°15′40″W / 43.2992°N 2.2610°W | ||||||||||||
Upper GSSP ratified | 2008[4] |
The Danian is the oldest age or lowest stage of the Paleocene Epoch or Series, of the Paleogene Period or System, and of the Cenozoic Era or Erathem. The beginning of the Danian (and the end of the preceding Maastrichtian) is at the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event 66 Ma. The age ended 61.6 Ma, being followed by the Selandian.[5]