(from Neocomium, the Latin name for the canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland), a division of the Lower Cretaceous. The Neocomian was identified in 1835 by the Swiss geologist J. Thurmann. At first it was considered to be the lowest stage of the Cretaceous system. After the Berriasian, Valanginian, Hauterivian, and Barremian stages were established within the Neocomian in the second half of the 19th century, the Neocomian has usually been understood to mean the superstage comprising these four stages.