The Pliensbachian (also known as Charmouthian) is a stage of the Early Jurassic Epoch. It spans the time between 189.6 ± 1.5 Ma and 183 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago).
The stage takes its name from the town of Pliensbach, some 30 km east of Stuttgart in Germany. Minerals and fossils from the region are displayed in a museum in Göppingen. The Pliensbachian ended with the extinction event called the Toarcian turnover.
In Europe this period is also known as the Middle Lias Stage.
The Wine Haven-Profil near Robin Hood's Bay is Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP).1
Vertebrate Fauna
Ornithischians
Theropoda
| Theropods of the Pliensbachian |
| Taxa |
Presence |
Location |
Description |
Images |
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Hanson Formation, Antarctica |
The earliest known tetanuran. About 6 to 8 meters (20 to 26 feet) long with a high, narrow skull and a peculiar nasal crest just over the eyes |
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Sinemurian to Pliensbachian |
Arizona, USA; Yunnan, China |
Measured around six meters (20 ft) long and may have weighed half a ton. The most distinctive characteristic of Dilophosaurus is the pair of rounded crests on its skull, possibly used for display. |
Literature
- M.K. Howart: The Lower Lias of Robin Hood's Bay, Yorkshire, and the work of Leslie Bairstow. In: Bulletin of The Natural History Museum. Geology Series 58/2002, S. 81–152 Cambridge University Press, The Natural History Museum, 2002, doi: 10.1017/S0968046202000037 (abstract)
References
- ^ GSSP for the Sinemurian-Pliensbachian Boundary, www.stratigraphy.org
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