page_title: Rhaetian
section_title: Dinosauria
hierarchical_section_title: Rhaetian / Rhaetian life / Archosauromorphs (non-dinosaurian, non-suchian) / Dinosauria
caption_attribution_description: Pantydraco caducus, a sauropodomorph from the Late Triassic or Early Jurassic of England, after Yates, 2003, pencil drawing, digital coloring
context_page_description: The Rhaetian is the latest age of the Triassic period or the uppermost stage of the Triassic system. It was preceded by the Norian and succeeded by the Hettangian. The base of the Rhaetian lacks a formal GSSP, though candidate sections include Steinbergkogel in Austria and Pignola-Abriola in Italy. The end of the Rhaetian is more well-defined. According to the current ICS system, the Rhaetian ended 201.3 ± 0.2 Ma.
  In 2010, the base of the Rhaetian was voted to be defined based on the first appearance of Misikella posthernsteini, a marine conodont. However, there is still much debate over the age of this boundary, as well as the evolution of M. posthernsteini. The most comprehensive source of precise age data for the Late Triassic comes from astrochronologically-constrained terrestrial strata of the Newark basin in the eastern United States. Correlating the Newark basin to marine sections encompassing the Norian-Rhaetian boundary is mainly achieved via magnetostratigraphy, though such correlations are subject to debate and revision.
caption: Pantydraco
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