Gorstian | |||||||||||||
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Chronology | |||||||||||||
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Etymology | |||||||||||||
Name formality | Formal | ||||||||||||
Name ratified | 1980[4] | ||||||||||||
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 | FAD of the graptolite Saetograptus (Colonograptus) varians | ||||||||||||
Lower boundary GSSP | Pitch Coppice, Ludlow, U.K. 52°21′33″N 2°46′38″W / 52.3592°N 2.7772°W | ||||||||||||
Lower GSSP ratified | 1980[4] | ||||||||||||
Upper boundary definition | Imprecise. Near FAD of the graptolite Saetograptus leintwardinensis | ||||||||||||
Upper boundary definition candidates | None | ||||||||||||
Upper boundary GSSP candidate section(s) | None | ||||||||||||
Upper boundary GSSP | Sunnyhill, Ludlow, England 52°21′33″N 2°46′38″W / 52.3592°N 2.7772°W | ||||||||||||
Upper GSSP ratified | 1980[4] |
In the geologic timescale, the Gorstian is an age of the Ludlow Epoch of the Silurian Period of the Paleozoic Era of the Phanerozoic Eon that is comprehended between 427.4 ± 0.5 Ma and 425.6 ± 0.9 Ma (million years ago), approximately. The Gorstian Age succeeds the Homerian Age and precedes the Ludfordian Age.[5] The age is named after Gorsty village southwest of Ludlow. The base of the age is marked by Saetograptus (Colonograptus) varians. The type section is located in a quarry in the Elton Formation at Pitch Coppice, Shropshire, United Kingdom.