Aquitanian age

The Aquitanian is the oldest age or lowest stage in the geologic timescale, as defined by the International Commission on Stratigraphy. It lasted from about 23.03 million years ago to 20.44 million years ago, during the early part of the Miocene epoch. This period had dry and cooling climate conditions.

The Aquitanian Age comes right after the Chattian, which is the last age of the Oligocene, and it is followed by the Burdigalian Age. During this time, many important changes were happening in Earth's climate and landscapes. The Aquitanian also overlaps with several other regional ages, such as the Harrisonian, Agenian, Pareora, Landon, Otaian, and Waitakian. These are used in different parts of the world to describe the same general time frame.

Stratigraphic definition

The Aquitanian Stage was named after the Aquitaine region in France. A Swiss scientist called Karl Mayer-Eymar first described it in 1858.

Scientists look for tiny fossils in rocks to find the start of the Aquitanian Stage. The end of the stage is marked by another type of tiny fossil. This helps geologists learn the age of different rock layers.