Chattian Stage

stratigraphy
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Also known as: Casselian Stage
Also called:
Casselian Stage

Chattian Stage, uppermost and latest division of Oligocene rocks, representing all rocks deposited worldwide during the Chattian Age (28.1 million to 23 million years ago) of the Paleogene Period (66 million to 23 million years ago). The Chattian Stage is named for the Chatti, an ancient tribe that inhabited the Cassel region of northern Germany.

The lower boundary of the Chattian Stage coincides with the top of the zone of the calcareous nannofossil (remains of ocean-dwelling golden-brown algae) Chiloguembelina. The upper boundary is nearly coincident with the top of the zone of the foraminiferan (pseudopod-using unicellular organism protected by a test or shell) Globorotalia kugleri. The Chattian overlies the Rupelian Stage of the Paleogene System and directly underlies the Aquitanian Stage of the Neogene System.

This article was most recently revised and updated by John P. Rafferty.