Fortunian
The age of the Terreneuvian interval (Cambrian), approximately 538.8–~529 Ma according to the ICS June 2026 chart.
Language and route: English place-name. English place-name → scientific English. Named after Fortune Head, Burin Peninsula, Newfoundland, Canada.
Literal gloss: from Fortune Head
The name and its history
Landing et al.; ratified 2007 · See attributed dates and cited original / standardisation works; first-use priority qualified where noted
- What does the word literally mean?
- From fortune head. Immediate scientific language-route: English place-name → scientific English. This is a locality-based or geographical term, not a description of a universal geological event.
- What did the original author mean?
- The first global Cambrian stage/age, whose lower boundary coincides with the Cambrian System base at Fortune Head.
- Why was the name needed?
- The lowermost Cambrian stage required a name after the Cambrian GSSP had already been formally selected in 1992; the choice made the reference coastal headland memorable.
- What evidence supported the original concept?
- The trace-fossil horizon near the base of the Treptichnus pedum interval at Fortune Head underpinned recognition and intercontinental correlation.
- How has geology changed the concept?
- Replaced provisional “Cambrian Stage 1”; first appearance of a trace-fossil marker defines a horizon, not the instantaneous origin of animal locomotion everywhere.
Further historical context
*Naming and context.* The lowermost Cambrian stage required a name after the Cambrian GSSP had already been formally selected in 1992; the choice made the reference coastal headland memorable.
*Evidence and later scope. The trace-fossil horizon near the base of the Treptichnus pedum* interval at Fortune Head underpinned recognition and intercontinental correlation. Replaced provisional “Cambrian Stage 1”; first appearance of a trace-fossil marker defines a horizon, not the instantaneous origin of animal locomotion everywhere.
Editorial qualification
Do not conflate the site-name Fortune with a geological interpretation of luck or chance.
Related names
Sources
- ICS International Chronostratigraphic Chart (June 2026) — Current formal unit, order, rank and numerical age
- Landing et al. (2007), Global standard names for the lowermost Cambrian series and stage — Original published proposal and ratification for Terreneuvian / Fortunian
- ICS Cambrian Subcommission, ratified GSSPs and naming motives — Formal series/stage ratifications, type localities and defining fossils