Question 1

How do you say Bathonian?

Accepted Answer

Bathonian is pronounced bath-OH-nee-an, with the stress on the second syllable. Break it down like this: BATH, then OH, then nee, then an. The first part sounds just like the word 'bath' as in a bathtub, which actually makes sense because the word is named after the city of Bath in England. Say it a few times slowly and it quickly becomes easy: bath-OH-nee-an.

Question 2

What does Bathonian mean?

Accepted Answer

Bathonian means 'belonging to Bath,' referring to the city of Bath in Somerset, England. The name comes from Bathonia, which is the Latin version of the city's name. French geologist Alcide d'Orbigny gave this geological stage its name in 1852 because the distinctive rock layers from this time period were first scientifically studied near that city. The suffix '-ian' is a standard Latin ending that geologists attach to place names when naming geological time periods.

Question 3

When was the Bathonian period?

Accepted Answer

The Bathonian lasted from approximately 168.2 million years ago to around 165.3 million years ago. That makes it a span of roughly 2.9 million years, which sounds like a long time but is actually one of the shorter stages within the Jurassic Period. It sits in the Middle Jurassic, between the Bajocian Age before it and the Callovian Age after it. In geological terms, this was right in the middle of the great Age of Dinosaurs.

Question 4

What dinosaurs lived during the Bathonian?

Accepted Answer

Several important dinosaurs lived during the Bathonian stage of the Middle Jurassic. Sauropods, the giant long-necked plant-eaters, were diversifying rapidly during this time, with early relatives of Brachiosaurus spreading across multiple continents. In England, the sauropod Cetiosaurus is associated with rock layers from around this period. Predatory theropod dinosaurs were also active, and small feathered dinosaurs were continuing to evolve. The Bathonian was a key time for dinosaur diversification before the famous giants of the Late Jurassic appeared.

Question 5

Where did Bathonian rocks form?

Accepted Answer

Bathonian-age rocks have been found across Europe, including in England, France, and Switzerland, as well as in Africa and other parts of the world. In England, the famous Forest Marble Formation and the Great Oolite Group contain Bathonian-age rocks packed with marine fossils. The Jura Mountains between France and Switzerland also contain well-studied Bathonian rock sequences. Many of these European Bathonian rocks were formed in shallow tropical seas, which is why they are often limestone full of coral and shell fragments.

Question 6

Was there an ocean during the Bathonian?

Accepted Answer

Yes, large parts of what is now Europe were covered by warm, shallow seas during the Bathonian. Much of England, for example, was submerged under a tropical sea similar to the modern-day Bahamas, with coral reefs and clear warm water. These seas were part of a wider body of water called the Tethys Sea, which occupied much of what is now southern Europe and Asia. The fossils of ammonites, corals, and sea urchins found in Bathonian rocks across England and France are direct evidence of these ancient tropical waters.

Question 7

Who named the Bathonian stage?

Accepted Answer

The Bathonian was named by the French geologist and paleontologist Alcide d'Orbigny in 1852. D'Orbigny was one of the founding figures of modern stratigraphy, the science of reading rock layers to understand geological time. He named dozens of geological stages during his career, each one tied to a specific place where the rocks of that age were clearly exposed and well-studied. He chose Bath in England for this stage because the Jurassic limestone beds around that city were excellent examples of the rock type from this time period.

Question 8

What came before and after the Bathonian?

Accepted Answer

The Bathonian is preceded by the Bajocian Age and followed by the Callovian Age. Together, these three stages make up a significant portion of the Middle Jurassic Epoch. The Bajocian ended and the Bathonian began approximately 168.2 million years ago, marked by a change in ammonite species in the fossil record. The Bathonian then ended around 165.3 million years ago when Callovian ammonite species first appeared. After the Callovian came the Late Jurassic, the era of the most famous giant dinosaurs.

Question 9

What was the climate like during the Bathonian?

Accepted Answer

The Bathonian world was significantly warmer than Earth today. There were no polar ice caps, and the global climate was a greenhouse state driven by high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Tropical conditions extended to much higher latitudes than they do now. Warm shallow seas covered large areas of the continents, and dense fern and conifer forests covered the land. Rainfall was seasonal in many areas, and the overall temperature was warm enough that cold-blooded reptiles could thrive even in regions that are temperate today.

Question 10

Are there any Bathonian fossils in the UK?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the United Kingdom has some excellent Bathonian fossil sites. The Forest Marble Formation and the Great Oolite Group, found across the Cotswolds and parts of southern England, date to the Bathonian and are rich in marine invertebrate fossils including ammonites, bivalves, and sea urchins. Bathonian rocks in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire have also yielded some early mammal fossils, tiny teeth and jaw fragments from shrew-sized creatures. These English fossil beds were among the first Bathonian-age rocks ever scientifically described, which is why the stage was named after the nearby city of Bath.

Question 11

How long did the Bathonian last?

Accepted Answer

The Bathonian lasted approximately 2.9 million years, from about 168.2 million years ago to around 165.3 million years ago. For comparison, modern humans have only existed for about 300,000 years, so the Bathonian was about ten times as long as our entire species has been around. Despite that, in geological terms it is considered a relatively short stage. The plus-or-minus error range on these dates is about 1 million years, which reflects the inherent uncertainty in radiometric dating of rocks this ancient.

Question 12

What is the Bathonian part of?

Accepted Answer

The Bathonian is a stage within the Middle Jurassic Epoch, which is itself part of the Jurassic Period. The full hierarchy goes: the Jurassic Period contains the Middle Jurassic Epoch, which contains the Bathonian Age or Stage. The Jurassic Period as a whole lasted from about 201 million years ago to 145 million years ago, and the Bathonian sits roughly in the middle of that vast stretch of time. It is sandwiched between the Bajocian below and the Callovian above within the Middle Jurassic.

Bathonian Pronunciation

What does Bathonian mean?

Name Roots

Fun Facts

Learn More About Bathonian

Related Time Periods