Ratification of Neogene subseries as formal units in international chronostratigraphy
The International Union of Geological Sciences Executive Committee (IUGS EC) voted on 13 October 2021 to ratify a proposal for the Neogene subseries/subepochs to have formal status. They are now incorporated into a sixtiered chronostratigraphic hierarchy within the International Chronostratigraphic Chart (ICC). The Lower/Early Miocene Subseries/Subepoch comprises the Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages/ages, the Middle Miocene Subseries/Subepoch comprises the Langhian and Serravallian stages/ages, the Upper/Late Miocene Subseries/Subepoch comprises the Tortonian and Messinian stages/ages, the Lower/Early Pliocene Subseries/Subepoch comprises the Zanclean Stage/Age and the Upper/Late Pliocene Subseries/Subepoch comprises the Piacenzian Stage/Age. This ratification is an important move towards both a common language in the wider Earth Sciences community and a step forward in the unification of Cenozoic chronostratigraphy, with Neogene and Quaternary subseries/subepochs now formalized.