Serravallian

It is also coeval with the Sarmatian and upper Badenian Stages of the Paratethys time scale of Central and eastern Europe.

The Serravallian Stage was introduced in stratigraphy by the Italian geologist Lorenzo Pareto in 1865.

The base of the Serravallian is at the first occurrence of fossils of the nanoplankton species Sphenolithus heteromorphus and is located in the chronozone C5ABr.

[8] The base of the Serravallian is related to the Mi3b oxygen isotope excursion marking the onset of the Middle Miocene Cooling step.

The top of the Serravallian (the base of the Tortonian Stage) is at the last common appearance of calcareous nanoplanktons Discoaster kugleri and planktonic foram Globigerinoides subquadratus.

Ancestors of the long-tailed duck have been found dating from the Serravalian of Hungary