Priabonian

The Priabonian is a special time period in Earth's history, part of what scientists call the geologic timescale. It was the last part of the Eocene Epoch, a time long ago when the world was much warmer than today. This time period lasted from about 37.71 million years ago to 33.9 million years ago.

Before the Priabonian came the Bartonian, and after it came the Rupelian, which is the first part of the next time period, the Oligocene.

There is also an ancient insect named Priabona that lived during the Priabonian time. This tiny insect belonged to a group called dipterans, which includes flies today, and it was found in old deposits from that time.

History and naming

The Priabonian Stage was first talked about in science books in 1893 by Ernest Munier-Chalmas and Albert de Lapparent. They named it after a small place called Priabona, which is near Monte di Malo in the Veneto area of northern Italy.

Stratigraphic definition

The Priabonian Stage begins when a special kind of tiny shell called Chiasmolithus oamaruensis first appears in the rocks. Scientists agreed on this in 2020 and chose a place in Alano di Piave, Belluno, Italy, to mark the start of this stage.

The end of the Priabonian Stage happens when a certain type of tiny ocean creature called Hantkenina disappears from the record.

Sometimes, scientists use different names for layers of rock in different places. For example, in Australia, the Priabonian overlaps with the upper Johannian and lower Aldingan stages. In California, it matches the upper Nanzian and lower Refugian stages. Other places have their own names too, like the Jacksonian in the southeastern US and Runangan in New Zealand.

The Priabonian matches with several animal ages around the world, such as the Chadronian in North America, the Headonian in Europe, and others in South America and Asia.