Miaolingian
The epoch of the Cambrian interval (Cambrian), approximately ~506.5–~497 Ma according to the ICS June 2026 chart.
Language and route: Chinese geographical name (romanised). Chinese geographical name (romanised) → international English. Named after Miaoling Mountains, southeastern Guizhou, China.
Literal gloss: named for the Miaoling Mountains
The name and its history
Zhao et al. (2019); ratified 2018 · See attributed dates and cited original / standardisation works; first-use priority qualified where noted
- What does the word literally mean?
- Named for the miaoling mountains. Immediate scientific language-route: Chinese geographical name (romanised) → international English. This is a locality-based or geographical term, not a description of a universal geological event.
- What did the original author mean?
- The third globally defined Cambrian series, formerly labelled by the provisional number Series 3, with its start fixed at Balang.
- Why was the name needed?
- A globally correlatable third Cambrian series replaced the provisional “Cambrian Series 3”. The name honours the mountain region hosting the Wuliuan GSSP rather than describing a characteristic fossil assemblage.
- What evidence supported the original concept?
- At Wuliu–Zengjiayan the first appearance of the widespread trilobite Oryctocephalus indicus, plus other biostratigraphic and chemostratigraphic signals, supported the boundary.
- How has geology changed the concept?
- Internationally standardised in 2018; a Chinese locality supplied a global series name, not a globally restricted regional rock unit.
Further historical context
*Naming and context.* A globally correlatable third Cambrian series replaced the provisional “Cambrian Series 3”. The name honours the mountain region hosting the Wuliuan GSSP rather than describing a characteristic fossil assemblage.
*Evidence and later scope. At Wuliu–Zengjiayan the first appearance of the widespread trilobite Oryctocephalus indicus*, plus other biostratigraphic and chemostratigraphic signals, supported the boundary. Internationally standardised in 2018; a Chinese locality supplied a global series name, not a globally restricted regional rock unit.
Editorial qualification
The Chinese toponym’s deeper lexical characters are not translated here without a reliable toponymic source.
Related names
Cambrian · Terreneuvian · Furongian · Fortunian · Wuliuan · Drumian · Guzhangian · Paibian · Jiangshanian · Fossil · Biostratigraphy
Sources
- ICS International Chronostratigraphic Chart (June 2026) — Current formal unit, order, rank and numerical age
- Zhao et al. (2019), Miaolingian / Wuliuan GSSP, Episodes — Original formal boundary paper and etymological localities
- ICS Cambrian Subcommission, ratified GSSPs and naming motives — Formal series/stage ratifications, type localities and defining fossils