Lopingian
The Lopingian is the uppermost series/last epoch of the Permian. It is the last epoch of the Paleozoic. The Lopingian was preceded by the Guadalupian and followed by the Early Triassic.
| Lopingian | |||||||||||||
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| Chronology | |||||||||||||
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| Etymology | |||||||||||||
| Name formality | Formal | ||||||||||||
| Synonym(s) | Late/Upper Permian | ||||||||||||
| Usage information | |||||||||||||
| Celestial body | Earth | ||||||||||||
| Regional usage | Global (ICS) | ||||||||||||
| Time scale(s) used | ICS Time Scale | ||||||||||||
| Definition | |||||||||||||
| Chronological unit | Epoch | ||||||||||||
| Stratigraphic unit | Series | ||||||||||||
| Time span formality | Formal | ||||||||||||
| Lower boundary definition | FAD of the Conodont Clarkina postbitteri postbitteri | ||||||||||||
| Lower boundary GSSP | Penglaitan Section, Laibin, Guangxi, China 23.6953°N 109.3211°E | ||||||||||||
| Lower GSSP ratified | 2004 | ||||||||||||
| Upper boundary definition | FAD of the Conodont Hindeodus parvus. | ||||||||||||
| Upper boundary GSSP | Meishan, Zhejiang, China 31.0798°N 119.7058°E | ||||||||||||
| Upper GSSP ratified | 2001 | ||||||||||||
The Lopingian is often synonymous with the informal terms late Permian or upper Permian.
The name was introduced by Amadeus William Grabau in 1931 and derives from Leping, Jiangxi in China. It consists of two stages/ages. The earlier is the Wuchiapingian and the later is the Changhsingian.
The International Chronostratigraphic Chart (v2018/07) provides a numerical age of 259.1 ±0.5 Ma. If a Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) has been approved, the lower boundary of the earliest stage determines numerical age of an epoch. The GSSP for the Wuchiapingian has a numerical age of 259.8 ± 0.4 Ma.
Evidence from Milankovitch cycles suggests that the length of an Earth day during this epoch was approximately 22 hours.