BURDIGALIAN STAGE

the second of six stages (in ascending order) of the Miocene Series, representing all those rocks deposited worldwide during the Burdigalian Age (21.8 to 16.6 million years ago). Together with the underlying Aquitanian Stage, it constitutes the Lower Miocene. In France the Burdigalian Stage is represented by rocks, especially shell beds, produced by a continuing transgression of the sea across low-lying land areas in the region of Bordeaux (ancient Burdigala). The stage's name derives in particular from the fossiliferous Faluns de Bordeaux in the Aquitaine Basin of southwestern France. These beds are found at Le Coquillat near Leognan, which has served as the traditional type district for rocks of this age. The Burdigalian Stage is not yet defined by a global stratotype section and point (GSSP) by the International Commission on Stratigraphy. The fossil zones of the foraminifera Catapsydrax dissimilis, C. stainforthi, and Globigerinatella insueta are thought to span the stage, however. The Burdigalian Stage is overlain by the Langhian Stage.