Wordian Stage | Silurian Period, Fossils & Geology

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They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/Wordian-Stage/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Topics: </dt> <dd><a href="/science/Guadalupian-Series" topicid="247612">Guadalupian Series</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Wordian-Stage"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref1043838"></span>Wordian Stage</strong>, second of three stages of the Middle Permian (Guadalupian) Series, made up of all rocks deposited during the Wordian Age (268.8 million to 265.1 million years ago) of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/Permian-Period" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Permian Period</a>. The name of this interval is <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="derived" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/derived" data-type="EB">derived</a> from the Wordian Formation located in the Glass Mountains of western <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Texas-state" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Texas</a> in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/North-America" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">North America</a>.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In 2001 the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) established the <span id="ref1230244"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/Global-Stratotype-Section-and-Point" class="md-crosslink ">Global Stratotype Section and Point</a> (GSSP) defining the base of this interval in the Cherry Canyon Formation of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Guadalupe-Mountains-National-Park" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Guadalupe Mountains</a> in Texas, U.S. The GSSP is located in a deposit of carbonate <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/mudstone" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">mudstone</a> and coincides with the appearance of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/conodont" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">conodont</a> <em>Jinogondolella aserrata</em> in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/fossil-record" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">fossil record</a>. Other important fossil organisms characteristic of the stage include ammonoids of the genera <em>Timorites</em> and <em>Waagenoceras</em>. Rocks of the Wordian Stage rest above those of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/Roadian-Stage" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Roadian Stage</a> and sit beneath those of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/Capitanian-Stage" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Capitanian Stage</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/editor/John-P-Rafferty/6747">John P. 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Wordian Stage | Silurian Period, Fossils & Geology | Britannica