Furongian

The Furongian is the final epoch of the Cambrian Period in the international geologic timescale. It is named after Furong County in Hunan Province, China. The Furongian covers the late Cambrian, ending at the base of the Ordovician, and therefore forms the last major interval before the Paleozoic era proper.

In modern practice the Furongian is subdivided into two stages: the Paibian and the Jiangshanian. The Paibian is the earlier stage and the Jiangshanian follows it, in ascending order. Stage boundaries are defined biostratigraphically, using fossil groups such as conodonts, trilobites, brachiopods, and other marine fauna in combination with regional stratigraphic markers. The precise ages can vary slightly by region, but the Furongian broadly spans roughly from about 498 to 485 million years ago, ending with the onset of the Ordovician.

The paleobiology of the Furongian reflects continued diversification of marine life during the late Cambrian. Fossil records document abundant shelled invertebrates, including trilobites, brachiopods, molluscs, and echinoderms, with increasing complexity in reefal and skeletal communities. This period preserves important transitions in biomineralization and faunal distribution, contributing to the overall Cambrian radiation that shapes early Paleozoic ecosystems.

In stratigraphic usage, the Furongian serves as a key interval for correlating late Cambrian rocks across continents. It remains a standard reference in the study of Cambrian–Ordovician biostratigraphy, paleoenvironments, and the early evolution of Paleozoic life. In older literature, the term is sometimes used synonymously with the upper Cambrian, but current practice places it within a distinct late Cambrian framework.