The Saint-Chinian Formation is a geological formation composed of shales with limestone inclusions, dating from the Lower Ordovician (Tremadocian).

[1] The formation received its name from the small city of Saint-Chinian, a commune located in the Hérault department in Occitania.

It is dated from the biostratigraphic sub-zone characterized by Taihungshania miqueli and Asaphelina barroisi berardi.

[1] The thin nature of the silico-clastics deposits, the presence of slump, combined with a trilobite fauna dominated by members of the Asaphidae family indicates a marine environment of external distal platform.

Those are the so-called "schistes à gateaux"[3].. Other fossil remains of marine animals are known from the formation:[13]