The Mammal Paleogene zones or MP zones are biostratigraphic

Biostratigraphy

Biostratigraphy is the branch of stratigraphy which focuses on correlating and assigning relative ages of rock strata by using the fossil assemblages contained within them. Usually the aim is correlation, demonstrating that a particular horizon in one geological section represents the same period...

 zones

Biozone

Biostratigraphic units or Biozones are intervals of geological strata that are defined on the basis of their characteristic fossil taxa....

 in the stratigraphic record of the Paleogene

Paleogene

The Paleogene is a geologic period and system that began 65.5 ± 0.3 and ended 23.03 ± 0.05 million years ago and comprises the first part of the Cenozoic Era...

 period of Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. These zones were developed by Matthijs Freudenthal to help paleontologists provide more specific reference points to evolution

Evolution

Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...

ary events in Europe, but are used by paleontologists on other continents as well. MP 1 is the earliest zone, and MP 30 is the most recent. The MP zones are complementary with the MN zones

MN zonation

The MN zonation is a system used to correlate mammal-bearing fossil localities in the Miocene and Pliocene of Europe. It consists of sixteen consecutive zones defined through reference faunas, well-known sites that other localities can be correlated with.The zones are as follows:*MN 1*MN 2*MN 3*MN...

 in the Neogene

Neogene

The Neogene is a geologic period and system in the International Commission on Stratigraphy Geologic Timescale starting 23.03 ± 0.05 million years ago and ending 2.588 million years ago...

.

Interval	Start	End	ICS International Commission on Stratigraphy The International Commission on Stratigraphy , sometimes referred to by the unofficial "International Stratigraphic Commission" is a daughter or major subcommittee grade scientific daughter organization that concerns itself with stratigraphy, geological, and geochronological matters on a global...  stages
MP 30 Chattian The Chattian is, in the geologic timescale, the youngest of two ages or upper of two stages of the Oligocene epoch/series. It spans the time between and . The Chattian is preceded by the Rupelian and is followed by the Aquitanian .-Stratigraphic definition:The Chattian was introduced by Austrian...		23.03 ± .005 Ma	Chattian Chattian The Chattian is, in the geologic timescale, the youngest of two ages or upper of two stages of the Oligocene epoch/series. It spans the time between and . The Chattian is preceded by the Rupelian and is followed by the Aquitanian .-Stratigraphic definition:The Chattian was introduced by Austrian...
MP 29			Chattian
MP 28 Chattian The Chattian is, in the geologic timescale, the youngest of two ages or upper of two stages of the Oligocene epoch/series. It spans the time between and . The Chattian is preceded by the Rupelian and is followed by the Aquitanian .-Stratigraphic definition:The Chattian was introduced by Austrian...	24.6 ± .1 Ma		Chattian
MP 27	25.6 ± .1 Ma	24.6 ± .1 Ma	Chattian
MP 26	27.6 ± .1 Ma	25.6 ± .1 Ma	Chattian
MP 25 Chattian The Chattian is, in the geologic timescale, the youngest of two ages or upper of two stages of the Oligocene epoch/series. It spans the time between and . The Chattian is preceded by the Rupelian and is followed by the Aquitanian .-Stratigraphic definition:The Chattian was introduced by Austrian...	29.2 ± .1 Ma	27.6 ± .1 Ma	Chattian - Rupelian Rupelian The Rupelian is, in the geologic timescale, the older of two ages or the lower of two stages of the Oligocene epoch/series. It spans the time between and . It is preceded by the Priabonian stage and is followed by the Chattian stage....
MP 24	30.2 ± .1 Ma	29.2 ± .1 Ma	Rupelian
MP 23	30.9 ± .1 Ma	30.2 ± .1 Ma	Rupelian
MP 22	32.6 ± .1 Ma	30.9 ± .1 Ma	Rupelian
MP 21	33.9 ± .05 Ma	32.6 ± .1 Ma	Priabonian Priabonian The Priabonian is, in the ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age or the upper stage of the Eocene epoch or series. It spans the time between and...
MP 20		33.9 ± .05 Ma	Priabonian
MP 19			Priabonian
MP 18			Priabonian
MP 17B			Priabonian
MP 17A	37.2 ± .1 Ma		Priabonian
MP 16	40.4 ± .1 Ma	37.2 ± .1 Ma	Bartonian Bartonian The Bartonian is, in the ICS's geological timescale, a stage or age in the middle Eocene epoch or series. The Bartonian age spans the time between and . It is preceded by the Lutetian and is followed by the Priabonian age.-Stratigraphic definition:...
MP 15		40.4 ± .1 Ma	Lutetian Lutetian The Lutetian is, in the geologic timescale, a stage or age in the Eocene. It spans the time between and . The Lutetian is preceded by the Ypresian and is followed by the Bartonian. Together with the Bartonian it is sometimes referred to as the Middle Eocene subepoch...
MP 14			Lutetian
MP 13			Lutetian
MP 12			Lutetian
MP 11	48.6 ± .1 Ma		Lutetian
MP 10 Ypresian In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age or lowest stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between and , is preceded by the Thanetian age and is followed by the Eocene Lutetian age....		48.6 ± .1 Ma	Ypresian Ypresian In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age or lowest stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between and , is preceded by the Thanetian age and is followed by the Eocene Lutetian age....
MP 9 Ypresian In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age or lowest stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between and , is preceded by the Thanetian age and is followed by the Eocene Lutetian age....			Ypresian
MP 8 Ypresian In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age or lowest stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between and , is preceded by the Thanetian age and is followed by the Eocene Lutetian age....			Ypresian
MP 7	55.8 ± .1 Ma		Ypresian
MP 6 Thanetian The Thanetian is, in the ICS' Geologic timescale, the latest age or uppermost stratigraphic stage of the Paleocene Epoch or series. It spans the time between and . The Thanetian is preceded by the Selandian age and followed by the Ypresian age...		55.8 ± .1 Ma	Thanetian Thanetian The Thanetian is, in the ICS' Geologic timescale, the latest age or uppermost stratigraphic stage of the Paleocene Epoch or series. It spans the time between and . The Thanetian is preceded by the Selandian age and followed by the Ypresian age...
MP 5			Thanetian
MP 4 Paleocene The Paleocene or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from about . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era...			Paleocene Paleocene The Paleocene or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from about . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era...  series Series (stratigraphy) Series are subdivisions of rock layers made based on the age of the rock and corresponding to the dating system unit called an epoch, both being formally defined international conventions of the geological timescale. A series is therefore a sequence of rock depositions defining a...
MP 3 Paleocene The Paleocene or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from about . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era...			Paleocene series
MP 2 Paleocene The Paleocene or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from about . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era...			Paleocene series
MP 1 Danian The Danian is the oldest age or lowermost stage of the Paleocene epoch or series, the Paleogene period or system and the Cenozoic era or erathem. The beginning of the Danian age is at the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event...	61.7 ± .05 Ma		Danian Danian The Danian is the oldest age or lowermost stage of the Paleocene epoch or series, the Paleogene period or system and the Cenozoic era or erathem. The beginning of the Danian age is at the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event...