Terreneuvian

Its base is defined by the first appearance datum of the trace fossil Treptichnus pedum around 538.8 million years ago. Its top is defined as the first appearance of trilobites in the stratigraphic record around 521 million years ago. This series' name was formally accepted by the International Commission on Stratigraphy in 2007.

Terreneuvian
538.8 ± 0.2 – ~521 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Delegates from the Ichnia 2012 conference inspect the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Ediacaran-Cambrian boundary at Fortune Head Ecological Reserve, Newfoundland, Canada.
Chronology
−540 — – −535 — – −530 — – −525 — – −520 — – −515 — – −510 — – −505 — – −500 — – −495 — – −490 — – −485 — – N ♇ P a l e o z o i c Ediacaran C a m b r i a n O T e r r e n e u v i a n S e r i e s 2 M i a o l i n g. F u r o n g. E Fortunian "Stage 2" "Stage 3" "Stage 4" Wuliuan Drumian Guzhangian Paibian Jiangshanian "Stage 10" Tremadocian               ← Orsten Fauna ← Burgess Shale ← Kaili biota ← Archaeocyatha extinction ← Emu Bay Shale ← Sirius Passet biota ← Chengjiang biota ← First Trilobites ← SSF diversification, first brachiopods & archaeocyatha ← First halkieriids, mollusсs, hyoliths SSF ← Baykonurian glaciation ← Dresbachian extinction   Major Glacial period Subdivision of the Cambrian according to the ICS, as of 2022. Vertical axis scale: millions of years ago
Etymology
Name formality	Formal
Name ratified	2007
Former name(s)	Cambrian Stage 1
Usage information
Celestial body	Earth
Regional usage	Global (ICS)
Time scale(s) used	ICS Time Scale
Definition
Chronological unit	Age
Stratigraphic unit	Stage
First proposed by	Ed Landing, 2007
Time span formality	Formal
Lower boundary definition	Appearance of the Ichnofossil Treptichnus pedum
Lower boundary GSSP	Fortune Head section, Newfoundland, Canada 47°04′20″N 55°51′52″W / 47.072163°N 55.864398°W / 47.072163; -55.864398
Lower GSSP ratified	2007 (as base of Terreneuvian and Fortunian)
Upper boundary definition	Not formally defined
Upper boundary definition candidates	FAD of Trilobites
Upper boundary GSSP candidate section(s)	None

The Fortunian stage and presently unnamed Cambrian Stage 2 are the stages within this series. The Terreneuvian corresponds to the pre-trilobitic Cambrian.

The name Terreneuvian is derived from Terre Neuve, the French name for the island of Newfoundland, Canada, where many rocks of this age are found, including the type section.

The type locality (GSSP) of the Terreneuvian is in Fortune Head, at the northern edge of the Burin Peninsula, Newfoundland, Canada (47°04′34″N 55°49′52″W / 47.0762°N 55.8310°W / 47.0762; -55.8310). The outcrops show a carbonate-siliciclastic succession which is mapped as the Chapel Island Formation. The formation is divided into the following members that are composed of peritidal sandstones and shales (Member 1), muddy deltaic and shelf sandstones and mudstones (Member 2A), laminated siltstones (Member 2B and 3) and mudstones and limestones of the inner shelf (Member 4). The Precambrian-Cambrian boundary lies 2.4 m above the base of the second member, which is the lowest occurrence of Treptichnus pedum. The traces can be seen on the lower surface of the sandstone layers. The first calcareous shelled skeletal fossils (Ladatheca cylindrica) are 400 m above the boundary. The first trilobites appear 1400 m above the boundary, which corresponds to the beginning of the Branchian Series (Series 2).

The second phase of the Cambrian explosion occurs during the Terreneuvian. Lots of lophotrochozoan and calcified basal metazoan lineages appeared in this epoch. However, deuterostomes are absent in this interval.

• Stratigraphy of the Cambrian