Earth:Cambrian Stage 2

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Short description: Second and last age of the Terreneuvian Epoch
Cambrian Stage 2
~529 – ~521 Ma
Chronology
Cambrian graphical timeline
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-540 —
-535 —
-530 —
-525 —
-520 —
-515 —
-510 —
-505 —
-500 —
-495 —
-490 —
-485 —
Orsten Fauna
Archaeocyatha extinction
SSF diversification, first brachiopods & archaeocyatha
Dresbachian extinction
Subdivision of the Cambrian according to the ICS, as of 2021.[1]
Vertical axis scale: millions of years ago
Etymology
Name formalityInformal
Usage information
Celestial bodyEarth
Regional usageGlobal (ICS)
Time scale(s) usedICS Time Scale
Definition
Chronological unitAge
Stratigraphic unitStage
Time span formalityFormal
Lower boundary definitionNot formally defined
Lower boundary definition candidatesFirst appearance of small shelly fauna or Archaeocyathids
Lower boundary GSSP candidate section(s)None
Upper boundary definitionNot formally defined
Upper boundary definition candidatesFAD of Trilobites
Upper boundary GSSP candidate section(s)None

Stage 2 of the Cambrian is the unnamed upper stage of the Terreneuvian Series. It lies atop the Fortunian and below Stage 3 of the Cambrian. It is commonly referred to as the Tommotian, after the Cambrian stratigraphy of Siberia.[2] Neither the upper nor lower boundary has yet been defined by the International Commission on Stratigraphy.[3] The preferred definitions for the lower boundary are the first appearance of the molluscs Watsonella crosbyi or Aldanella attleborensis around 529 million years ago.[4] The correlation between the lowest occurrences of A. attleborensis and W. crosbyi with the Zhujiaqing positive carbon isotope excursion (ZHUCE) has led to the conclusion that the combination of these two markers are a reliable indicator of the boundary between the Fortunian and Stage 2.[5] The proposed upper boundary might be the first appearance of trilobites around 521 million years ago.[3]

Possible candidates for a GSSP include the first appearance of Watsonella crosbyi in the Zhujiaqing Formation (朱家庆组) in Yunnan, China or the Pestrotsvet Formation near the Aldan River on the Siberian Platform.[6]

References

  1. "Chart/Time Scale". International Commission on Stratigraphy. http://www.stratigraphy.org/index.php/ics-chart-timescale. 
  2. Kouchinsky, Artem; Bengtson, Stefan; Missarzhevsky, Vladimir V.; Pelechaty, Shane; Torssander, Peter; Val'kov, Anatolij K. (24 September 2001). "Carbon isotope stratigraphy and the problem of a pre-Tommotian stage in Siberia". Geological Magazine 138 (4): 387–396. doi:10.1017/S0016756801005684. Bibcode2001GeoM..138..387K. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 "GSSP List ICS". ICS. http://www.stratigraphy.org/GSSP/index.html. 
  4. "International Commission on Stratigraphy". http://www.palaeontology.geo.uu.se/ISCS/ISCS_working_groups.html#6. 
  5. Yang, Chuan; Bowyer, Fred T.; Condon, Daniel J.; Li, Xian-Hua; Zhu, Maoyan (15 April 2023). "New U-Pb age from the Shuijingtuo Formation (Yangtze Gorges area) and its implications for the Cambrian timescale". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 616: 111477. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2023.111477. ISSN 0031-0182. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031018223000950. Retrieved 10 December 2023. 
  6. Li, Guoxiang; Zhao, Xin; Gubanov, Alexander; Zhu, Maoyan; Na, Lin (1 April 2011). "Early Cambrian Mollusc Watsonella crosbyi: A Potential GSSP Index Fossil for the Base of the Cambrian Stage 2". Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition 85 (2): 309–319. doi:10.1111/j.1755-6724.2011.00400.x.