Villafranchianadj.
/vɪləˈfraŋkɪən/ Geology.
Of, pertaining to, or designating a stratigraphical stage in Europe variously assigned to the Upper Pliocene and the Lower Pleistocene (see quots.). Frequently absol.
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Villafranchian1893
1893 A. Geikie Text-bk. Geol. (ed. 3) 1016 (table) Villafranchian.
1955 G. G. Woodford tr. M. Gignoux Stratigr. Geol. x. 558 From the viewpoint of evolution of mammalian faunas, the Burdigalian.. and Villafranchian mark important changes.
1972 Gloss. Geol. (Amer. Geol. Inst.) 778/2 Villafranchian, European stage: lower Pleistocene... It is the terrestrial equivalent (in France and Italy) of the marine Calabrian. Before 1948, it was used for the latest division of the Pliocene.
1973 Nature 15 June 391/2 Recent data have shown that the continental type Villafranchian is essentially late Pliocene (pre-Calabrian).
1974 Encycl. Brit. Micropædia X. 436/3 It is likely that the Villafranchian includes within it the Plio-Pleistocene boundary.
1974 Encycl. Brit. Macropædia XIV. 568/2 The Villafranchian fauna was..greatly modified by extinctions and new additions.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online December 2019).
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adj.1893