The Calabrian Stage redefined

The name Calabrian was introduced in the geological literature by the French stratigrapher Maurice Gignoux in 1910, and later described in his important monograph (633 pages) "Les formations marines pliocènes et quaternaires de l'Italie du sud et de la Sicile" published in 1913. Detailed data were provided on several sections (Santa Maria di Catanzaro, Caraffa, Monasterace, Palermo) and on their fossil content. The Calabrian Stage has commonly been used for over fifty years as the oldest subdivision of the Quaternary, notably in the time scales of Berggren & van Couvering (1974) and Haq & Eysinga (1987). However, after the GSSP for the Pliocene/Pleistocene boundary (P/P) was approved by INQ…