Albian

The Albian is both an age of the geologic timescale and a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early/Lower Cretaceous epoch/series. Its approximate time range is 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma to 100.5 ± 0.9 Ma (million years ago). The Albian is preceded by the Aptian and followed by the Cenomanian.

The Albian stage was first proposed in 1842 by Alcide d'Orbigny. It was named after Alba, the latin name for River Aube in France,

The base of the Albian is defined as the place in the stratigraphic column where the coccolithophore species Praediscosphaera columnata first appears.

As of 2014^[update], a reference profile for the base of the Albian stage (its GSSP) had not yet been established.

The top of the Albian stage (the base of the Cenomanian stage and Upper Cretaceous series) is defined as the place where the foram species Rotalipora globotruncanoides first appears in the stratigraphic column.

The Albian is sometimes subdivided in Early/Lower, Middle and Late/Upper subages or substages. In western Europe, especially in the UK, a subdivision in two substages (Vraconian and Gaultian) is more often used.

The following representatives of the Albian stage are worthy of notice: the phosphorite beds of the Argonne and Bray areas in France; the Flammenmergel of northern Germany; the lignites of Utrillas in Spain; the Upper sandstones of Nubia, and the Fredericksburg beds of North America.

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