Pontianadj.n.
/ˈpɒntɪən/, U.S. /ˈpɑn(t)iən/ Geology.
A. adj.
Of, relating to, or designating the uppermost stage of the Miocene series in Europe (sometimes regarded as the lowest of the Pliocene series).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > age or period > stratigraphic units > [adjective] > tertiary or Cenozoic > Miocene or Pliocene
Pontian1893
Pontic1902
1893 P. Lake tr. E. Kayser Text Bk. Compar. Geol. iv. 361 Congeria or Pontian [Ger. pontische] series.
1903 A. Geikie Text-bk. Geol. (ed. 4) II. 1291 The top of the Miocene series (Pontian stage).
1940 A. W. Grabau Rhythm of Ages xxxviii. 466 The Pontian Hipparion clays, which were formerly considered in part Miocene, are here placed in the base of the Pliocene.
1992 Paleobiology 18 99/1 Conditions apparently deteriorated further at the end of zone E; M[elanopsis] vindobonensis disappears altogether, and M. fossilis is known only from a single Pontian locality.
B. n.
The Pontian stage; the rocks collectively dating from this time.
ΚΠ
1895 J. D. Dana Man. Geol. (ed. 4) iv. iv. 927 Above the Tortonian, the stages Sarmatian and Pontian are recognized in Dauphiné, Austria, and Italy.
1971 Nature 30 Apr. 562/1 In 1929, Matthew.., pointing to the occurrence of a relatively primitive Hipparion fauna in the lower part of the stratotype Pontian at Sebastopol,..argued that the first appearance of Hipparion could thus be used to define the base of the Pliocene in continental mammalian successions. In this way, ‘early Pliocene’ and ‘Pontian’ became equivalent terms in vertebrate biostratigraphy.
1998 Limnol. & Oceanogr. 43 44/2 In the late Pontian, a mountain arch rose across the south basin and divided it in the Khachmas and Lenkoran Lakes (or early Balakhan).
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1893