Maastrichtian
Opening of the western Indian Ocean in the Maastrichtian
Chronology
Etymology
Name formalityFormal
Usage information
Celestial bodyEarth
Regional usageGlobal (ICS)
Time scale(s) usedICS Time Scale
Definition
Chronological unitAge
Stratigraphic unitStage
Time span formalityFormal
Lower boundary definitionMean of 12 biostratigraphic criteria
Lower boundary GSSPGrande Carrière quarry, Landes, France
43°40′46″N 1°06′48″W / 43.6795°N 1.1133°W / 43.6795; -1.1133
Lower GSSP ratifiedFebruary 2001[2]
Upper boundary definitionIridium enriched layer associated with a major meteorite impact and subsequent K-Pg extinction event.
Upper boundary GSSPEl Kef Section, El Kef, Tunisia
36°09′13″N 8°38′55″E / 36.1537°N 8.6486°E / 36.1537; 8.6486
Upper GSSP ratified1991

The Maastrichtian ( /mɑːˈstrɪktiən/ mah-STRICK-tee-ən) is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interval from 72.1 to 66 million years ago. The Maastrichtian was preceded by the Campanian and succeeded by the Danian (part of the Paleogene and Paleocene).[3]

The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event (formerly known as the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event)[lower-alpha 1] occurred at the end of this age.[3] In this mass extinction, many commonly recognized groups such as non-avian dinosaurs, plesiosaurs and mosasaurs, as well as many other lesser-known groups, died out. The cause of the extinction is most commonly linked to an asteroid about 10 to 15 kilometres (6.2 to 9.3 mi) wide[4][5] colliding with Earth, ending the Cretaceous.

Stratigraphic definitions

Rendzina soil on the Maastrichtian Chalk in Kozubów Landscape Park, Poland

Definition

The Maastrichtian was introduced into scientific literature by Belgian geologist André Hubert Dumont in 1849, after studying rock strata of the Chalk Group close to the Dutch city of Maastricht. These strata are now classified as the Maastricht Formation - both formation and stage derive their names from the city.[6] The Maastricht Formation is known for its fossils from this age, most notably those of the giant sea reptile Mosasaurus, which in turn derives its name from the nearby river Maas (mosa being Latin for the river Maas).[7][8]

The base of the Maastrichtian Stage is at the first appearance of ammonite species Pachydiscus neubergicus. At the original type locality near Maastricht, the stratigraphic record was later found to be incomplete. A reference profile for the base was then appointed in a section along the Ardour river called Grande Carrière, close to the village of Tercis-les-Bains in southwestern France.[9][2] The top of the Maastrichtian Stage is defined to be at the iridium anomaly at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary (K–Pg boundary), which is also characterised by the extinction of many groups of life.[10]

Subdivision

The Maastrichtian is commonly subdivided into two substages (Upper and Lower) and three ammonite biozones. The biozones are (from young to old):[11]

The Maastrichtian is roughly coeval with the Lancian North American Land Mammal Age.

Palaeogeography and paleoclimate

The breakup of Pangaea was nearly complete in the Maastrichtian, with Australia beginning to break away from Antarctica and Madagascar breaking away from India. However, Arabia had not yet rifted away from Africa. North America was separated from Europe by rift basins, but sea floor spreading had not yet commenced between the two continents.[12]

The Pacific Plate was rapidly growing in size as the surrounding oceanic plates were consumed by subduction, and the Pacific-Izanagi Ridge was rapidly approaching Asia.[13]

Eruption of the Deccan Traps large igneous province began during the Maastrichtian, at around 67 million years ago. This is thought to be a consequence of India drifting over the Réunion hotspot.[14]

During the Maastrichtian, the global climate began to shift from the warm and humid climate of the Mesozoic to the colder and more arid climate of the Cenozoic.[14] Variation of climate with latitude also became greater. This was likely caused by a major reorganization of oceanic circulation that took place at the boundary between the early and late Maastrichtian. This reorganization was triggered by the breach of tectonic barriers in the South Atlantic, permitting deep ocean water to begin circulating from the nascent North Atlantic to the south. This initiated thermohaline circulation similar to that of the modern oceans. At the same time, the Laramide orogeny drained the Western Interior Seaway of North America, further contributing to global cooling.[15]

Paleontology

Fossil of Hemipneustes leymeriei

Dinosaurs remained the dominant large terrestrial animals throughout the Maasastrichtian, though mammals with internal organs similar to modern mammals were also present. Both ammonites and pterosaurs were in serious decline during the Maastrichtian.[16]

Dinosaurs

Birds

Several archaic clades of birds, such as Enantiornithes, Ichthyornithes, and Hesperornithes, persisted to the latest Maastrichtian but became extinct during the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event.[17]

Pterosaurs

Traditionally, pterosaur faunas of the Maastrichtian were assumed to be dominated by azhdarchids, with other pterosaur groups having become extinct earlier on. However, more recent findings suggest a fairly composite pterosaur diversity: at least six ("Nyctosaurus" lamegoi, a Mexican humerus, a Jordan humerus and several taxa from Morocco) nyctosaurs date to this period, as do a few pteranodontids, and Navajodactylus, tentatively assigned to Azhdarchidae, lacks any synapomorphies of the group.[18][19] This seems to underscore a higher diversity of terminal Cretaceous pterosaurs than previously thought.[20][21][22]

Maastrichtian landscape

Flora

The radiation of angiosperms (flowering plants) was well under way in the Maastrichtian. From 50% to 80% of all genera of land plants were angiosperms, though gymnosperms and ferns still covered larger areas of the land surface.[23]

Notes

  1. ↑ This designation has as a part of it a term, 'Tertiary', that is now discouraged as a formal geochronological unit by the International Commission on Stratigraphy.

References

  1. ↑ International Commission on Stratigraphy. "ICS - Chart/Time Scale". www.stratigraphy.org.
  2. 1 2 Odin, Gilles S.; Michèle A. Lamaurelle (2001). "The global Campanian-Maastrichtian stage boundary". Episodes. 24 (4): 229–238. doi:10.18814/epiiugs/2001/v24i4/002.
  3. 1 2 Ogg, James G.; Gradstein, Felix M.; Smith, A.G. (2004). A geologic time scale 2004. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-78142-6. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  4. ↑ Sleep, Norman H.; Lowe, Donald R. (9 April 2014). "Scientists reconstruct ancient impact that dwarfs dinosaur-extinction blast". American Geophysical Union. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  5. ↑ Amos, Jonathan (15 May 2017). "Dinosaur asteroid hit 'worst possible place'". BBC News Online. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  6. ↑ Jagt, J.W.M; Jagt-Yazykova, E.A. (2012). "Stratigraphy of the type Maastrichtian – a synthesis". Scripta Geologica. 08: 5–32. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  7. ↑ Hallie P. Street (2016). A re-assessment of the genus Mosasaurus (Squamata: Mosasauridae) (PDF) (PhD). University of Alberta. doi:10.7939/R31N7XZ1K.
  8. ↑ Mike Everhart (May 14, 2010). "Mosasaurus hoffmanni-The First Discovery of a Mosasaur?". Oceans of Kansas. Archived from the original on September 4, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  9. ↑ Odin, G.S. (2001). "Chapter E5c Numerical age calibration of the Campanian-Maastrichtian succession at Tercis les Bains (landes, france) and in the Bottaccione Gorge (Italy)". Developments in Palaeontology and Stratigraphy. 19: 775–782. doi:10.1016/S0920-5446(01)80068-6. ISBN 9780444506474.
  10. ↑ Ogg, Gradstein & Smith 2004, p. 345.
  11. ↑ Ward, Peter D.; Kennedy, W. James (1993). "Maastrichtian Ammonites from the Biscay Region (France, Spain)". Memoir (The Paleontological Society). 34 (S34): 1–58. Bibcode:1993JPal...67S...1W. doi:10.1017/S0022336000062223. JSTOR 1315613. S2CID 181450798.
  12. ↑ Torsvik, Trond H.; Cocks, L. Robin M. (2017). Earth history and palaeogeography. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. pp. 220, 222, 230. ISBN 9781107105324.
  13. ↑ Torsvik & Cocks 2017, p. 220.
  14. 1 2 Torsvik & Cocks 2017, p. 234.
  15. ↑ Frank, Tracy D.; Arthur, Michael A. (April 1999). "Tectonic forcings of Maastrichtian ocean-climate evolution". Paleoceanography. 14 (2): 103–117. Bibcode:1999PalOc..14..103F. doi:10.1029/1998PA900017. S2CID 30926910.
  16. ↑ Torsvik & Cocks 2017, p. 238, 239.
  17. ↑ Longrich, Nicholas R.; Tokaryk, Tim; Field, Daniel J. (13 September 2011). "Mass extinction of birds at the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 108 (37): 15253–15257. Bibcode:2011PNAS..10815253L. doi:10.1073/pnas.1110395108. PMC 3174646. PMID 21914849.
  18. ↑ Wilton, Mark P. (2013). Pterosaurs: Natural History, Evolution, Anatomy. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691150613.
  19. ↑ Barrett, P. M., Butler, R. J., Edwards, N. P., & Milner, A. R. (2008). Pterosaur distribution in time and space: an atlas. Zitteliana: 61-107.[1].
  20. ↑ Carroll, N. REASSIGNMENT OF MONTANAZHDARCHO MINOR AS A NON-AZHDARCHID MEMBER OF THE AZHDARCHOIDEA, SVP 2015.
  21. ↑ Agnolin, Federico L.; Varricchio, David (2012). "Systematic reinterpretation of Piksi barbarulna Varricchio, 2002 from the Two Medicine Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of Western USA (Montana) as a pterosaur rather than a bird". Geodiversitas. 34 (4): 883–894. doi:10.5252/g2012n4a10. S2CID 56002643.
  22. ↑ Longrich, Nicholas R.; Martill, David M.; Andres, Brian (2018). "Late Maastrichtian pterosaurs from North Africa and mass extinction of Pterosauria at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary". PLOS Biology. 16 (3): e2001663. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2001663. PMC 5849296. PMID 29534059.
  23. ↑ Torsvik & Cocks 2017, p. 238.
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