RE: paleonet Ediacaran Period

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Dear Colleagues,

John Laurie has responded to Andrew Rindsberg's query over the ending
of 'Ediacaran'.   I would add the following:
'Cambrian' is the adjectival form of 'Cambria', the Roman name for
western Wales.   In other words, like 'Ediacaran', it involves only the
addition of 'n' to a place name.
In a similar fashion, 'Silurian' derives from Siluria, the land of the
Celtic tribe, the Silures.  Note that Murchison, the author of the
Silurian System, called his book on Welsh geology 'Siluria'.   
More generally, the Latin suffixes, -a and -ia, indicate a place (e.g.
America, Australia).   In English, we add an 'n' to create the
adjectival form, which then is pressed into service as a noun in naming
a chronostratigraphic or geochronological unit.   

Regards,

Stephen Carey




Stephen Carey
Geology Department
University of Ballarat
PO Box 663
Ballarat   Vic   3350
Australia
tel +61-3-5327 9268
fax +61-3-5327 9144
e-mail s.carey@ballarat.edu.au


>>> arindsberg@gsa.state.al.us 05/20/04 11:19pm >>>
Curious minds want to know: Would anyone care to summarize the reasons
that
'Ediacaran' was chosen over 'Sinian' and 'Vendian'? Priority is
important
but it is not the only consideration in stratigraphy. 

Also, why was the form 'Ediacaran' chosen over 'Ediacarian', the form
that
one would expect by analogy with Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, etc.?
The
suffix would have distinguished taphonomic (Ediacaran) and
stratigraphic
(Ediacarian) uses of the word. Both forms were in use: Google search
shows
195 uses of 'Ediacaran Period' and 65 of 'Ediacarian Period'.

Andrew K. Rindsberg
Geological Survey of Alabama