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Toarcian
 
 
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The Toarcian Stage was the last faunal stage
Faunal stage

In chronostratigraphy, a stage is a Geologic record laid down in an single age on the geologic timescale, which usually represents millions of years of deposition....
 of the Early Jurassic
Early Jurassic

The Early Jurassic epoch is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event and ends at the start of the Middle Jurassic ....
 period. It is usually used to cover the period from 183 Ma
Annum

Annum is one form of the Latin noun meaning year, not a form normally used for derivatives in modern languages: the accusative case Grammatical number of the second declension grammatical gender noun annus , anni ....
 to 175 Ma (million years ago).

The Toarcian stage began with the Toarcian turnover
Toarcian turnover

The term Toarcian turnover, alternatively the Toarcian extinction, the Pliensbachian-Toarcian extinction, or the Early Jurassic extinction, refers to the wave of extinctions of that marked the end of the Pliensbachian stage and the start of the Toarcian stage of the Early Jurassic period, c....
, the extinction event
Extinction event

An extinction event is a sharp decrease in the number of species in a relatively short period of time. Mass extinctions affect most major taxonomy groups present at the time ? birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates and other simpler life forms....
 that set it apart from the previous Pliensbachian
Pliensbachian

The Pliensbachian is a faunal stage of the Early Jurassic epoch . It spans the time between 189.6 ? 1.5 annum and 183 ? 1.5 Ma .The stage takes its name from the town of Pliensbach, some 30 km east of Stuttgart in Germany....
 stage. The Toarcian takes its name from the town of Thouars
Thouars

Thouars is a town and commune in France of France, situated in the D?partements of France of Deux-S?vres in the Poitou-Charentes r?gion in France....
, just south of Saumur
Saumur

Saumur is a Communes of France in the Maine-et-Loire Departments of France in western France.The historic town is located between the Loire River and Thouet rivers, which join to the west of the town....
 in the Loire Valley
Loire Valley

Loire Valley is known as the Garden of France and the Cradle of the French Language. It is also noteworthy for the quality of its architectural heritage, in its historic towns such as Amboise, Angers, Blois, Chinon, Nantes, Orl?ans, Saumur, and Tours, but in particular for its world-famous castles, such as the Ch?teaux d'Ch?teau d'Am...
 of France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
.

In Europe this period is also known as the Upper Lias Stage.








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The Toarcian Stage was the last faunal stage
Faunal stage

In chronostratigraphy, a stage is a Geologic record laid down in an single age on the geologic timescale, which usually represents millions of years of deposition....
 of the Early Jurassic
Early Jurassic

The Early Jurassic epoch is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event and ends at the start of the Middle Jurassic ....
 period. It is usually used to cover the period from 183 Ma
Annum

Annum is one form of the Latin noun meaning year, not a form normally used for derivatives in modern languages: the accusative case Grammatical number of the second declension grammatical gender noun annus , anni ....
 to 175 Ma (million years ago).

The Toarcian stage began with the Toarcian turnover
Toarcian turnover

The term Toarcian turnover, alternatively the Toarcian extinction, the Pliensbachian-Toarcian extinction, or the Early Jurassic extinction, refers to the wave of extinctions of that marked the end of the Pliensbachian stage and the start of the Toarcian stage of the Early Jurassic period, c....
, the extinction event
Extinction event

An extinction event is a sharp decrease in the number of species in a relatively short period of time. Mass extinctions affect most major taxonomy groups present at the time ? birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates and other simpler life forms....
 that set it apart from the previous Pliensbachian
Pliensbachian

The Pliensbachian is a faunal stage of the Early Jurassic epoch . It spans the time between 189.6 ? 1.5 annum and 183 ? 1.5 Ma .The stage takes its name from the town of Pliensbach, some 30 km east of Stuttgart in Germany....
 stage. The Toarcian takes its name from the town of Thouars
Thouars

Thouars is a town and commune in France of France, situated in the D?partements of France of Deux-S?vres in the Poitou-Charentes r?gion in France....
, just south of Saumur
Saumur

Saumur is a Communes of France in the Maine-et-Loire Departments of France in western France.The historic town is located between the Loire River and Thouet rivers, which join to the west of the town....
 in the Loire Valley
Loire Valley

Loire Valley is known as the Garden of France and the Cradle of the French Language. It is also noteworthy for the quality of its architectural heritage, in its historic towns such as Amboise, Angers, Blois, Chinon, Nantes, Orl?ans, Saumur, and Tours, but in particular for its world-famous castles, such as the Ch?teaux d'Ch?teau d'Am...
 of France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
.

In Europe this period is also known as the Upper Lias Stage.

Vertebrate Fauna


Ornithischians

Ornithischians of the Toarcian
Taxa Presence Location Description Images
  • Emausaurus
    Emausaurus

    Emausaurus is a genus of thyreophoran or armored dinosaur from the Early Jurassic. Its fossils have been found in Germany. It is known from a skull and partial postcranial remains, although only the skull is known well....
  Germany Armored dinosaur known from a skull and partial postcranial remains, although only the skull is known well. Armor includes conical scutes and tall, spiny elements. 


Plesiosaurs

Plesiosauria
Plesiosauria

Plesiosauria are an Order of Mesozoic marine reptiles. They first appeared in the middle Triassic Period and became especially common during the Jurassic Period, thriving until the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous Period....
 of the Toarcian
Taxa Presence Location Description Images
  • Occitanosaurus
    Occitanosaurus

    Occitanosaurus is an extinction genus of plesiosaur from the Early Jurassic of what is now France. The type species is Occitanosaurus tournemirensis , first named by Sciau et al. in 1990....
  Tournemire
Tournemire

Tournemire may refer to the following places in France:* Tournemire, Aveyron, a commune in the department of Aveyron* Tournemire, Cantal, a commune in the department of Cantal...
, Aveyron, France		 A plesiosaur similar to Elasmosaurus; fossils consist of a single but nearly complete skeleton of an animal approximately 4 meters (13 ft) long
  • Plesiosaurus
    Plesiosaurus

    Plesiosaurus was a large , marine sauropterygian reptile that lived during the early part of the Jurassic Period, and is known by nearly complete skeletons from the Lias of England and Germany....
     guilelmiimperatoris
    		•  Sinemurian
    Sinemurian

    The Sinemurian is a faunal stage of the Early Jurassic epoch . It spans the time between 196.5 ? 2 annum and 189.6 ? 1.5 Ma .The stage takes its name from the town of :fr:Semur-en-Brionnais, near Sancerre in the upper Loire Valley....
     and Toarcian    		 Württemberg
    Württemberg

    W?rttemberg [], formerly known as Wirtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
    , Germany    		 A large (about 3 to 5 meters long), marine sauropterygian reptile, it was distinguished by its small head, long and slender neck, broad turtle like body, a short tail, and two pairs of large, elongated paddles
  • Rhomaleosaurus
    Rhomaleosaurus

    Rhomaleosaurus is an extinct genus of sauropterygian reptile belonging to the pliosaur superfamily. It was about long and lived in the Early Jurassic Period....
    		•  Hettangian
    Hettangian

    The Hettangian is the first faunal stage of the Early Jurassic epoch . It spans the time between 199.6 ? 0.6 annum and 196.5 ? 1 Ma . The stage follows the Rhaetian Stage of the Triassic Period....
     and Toarcian    		 Alum Shale, Yorkshire, England; Holzmaden
    Holzmaden

    Holzmaden is a town in Baden-W?rttemberg, Germany that lies between Stuttgart and Ulm.The ground in and around the city contains rich layers of well preserved fossils of the Jurassic period....
    , Baden-Württemberg, Germany    		 A genus of sauropterygian carnivorous reptile belonging to the pliosaur superfamily, it was about 7m long.


    Sauropods

    Sauropoda
    Sauropoda

    Sauropoda , or the sauropods , are an Order or clade of saurischian dinosaurs. They notable for the enormous sizes attained by some species, and the group includes many of the largest animals to have ever lived on land....
     of the Toarcian
    Taxa Presence Location Description Images
    • Barapasaurus
      Barapasaurus

      Barapasaurus meaning 'big-legged lizard', referring to the size of its leg bone is a genus of dinosaur....
    		  India The earliest known sauropod. Reached a length of about 18 metres (60 feet), and weighed about 48 tones (53 tons). Its height to the hip was approximately 5.5 metres (18 feet)
  • Rhoetosaurus
    Rhoetosaurus

    Rhoetosaurus, alternate spellings: Rhaetosaurus ; Rheteosaurus , , named after Rhoetus, a Titan in Greek Mythology, is a genus of Sauropod dinosaur from the Jurassic of what is now eastern Australia....
    		•  Disputed Central Queensland, Australia Estimated to have been about 12-15 metres long. Has been compared to Shunosaurus, based on similar general age, but without justification.


    Thalattosuchians

    Thalattosuchia
    Thalattosuchia

    Thalattosuchia is the name given to a clade of marine crocodylomorphs from the Early Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous that had a cosmopolitan distribution....
     of the Toarcian
    Taxa Presence Location Description Images
    • Pelagosaurus
      Pelagosaurus

      Pelagosaurus is an extinct genus of thalattosuchian crocodyliform that lived during the Toarcian stage of the Lower Jurassic, around 183 annum to 175 Ma , in shallow epicontinental seas that covered much of what is now Western Europe....
    		  Somerset, England; France; Germany 
  • Peipehsuchus
    Peipehsuchus

    Peipehsuchus is an extinct genus of Teleosauridae crocodyliform from the Early Jurassic . The type species, P. teleorhinus, is known from China....
    		•    
  • Platysuchus
    Platysuchus

    Platysuchus is an extinct genus of Teleosauridae crocodyliform from the Early Jurassic . All specimens are known from Germany....
    		•    
  • Steneosaurus
    Steneosaurus

    Steneosaurus is an extinct genus of Teleosauridae crocodyliform from the Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous . Fossil specimens have been found in England, France, Germany, Switzerland and Morocco....
    		•