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The Cryogenian ( /kraɪoʊˈdʒɛniən/, from Greek κρύος (krýos), meaning "cold" and γένεσις (génesis), meaning
"birth") is a geologic period that lasted from 720 to 635 million years ago.[4] It forms the second geologic
period of the Neoproterozoic Era, preceded by the Tonian Period and followed by the Ediacaran.

The Sturtian and Marinoan glaciations occurred during the Cryogenian period,[5] which are the greatest ice
ages known to have occurred on Earth. These events are the subject of much scientific controversy. The main
debate contests whether these glaciations covered the entire planet (the so-called "Snowball Earth") or a band
of open sea survived near the equator (termed "slushball Earth").
Contents

1 Ratification
2 Climate
3 Paleogeography
4 Cryogenian biota and fossils
5 See also
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links

Ratification

The Cryogenian period was ratified in 1990 by the International Commission on Stratigraphy.[6] In contrast to
most other time periods, the beginning of the Cryogenian is not linked to a globally observable and documented
event. Instead, the base of the period is defined by a fixed rock age, that was originally set at 850 million
years,[7] but changed in 2015 to 720 million years.[4]

This is problematic because estimates of rock ages are variable and are subject to laboratory error. For
instance, the time scale of the Cambrian Period is not reckoned by rock younger than a given age (541 million
years), but by the appearance of the worldwide Treptichnus pedum diagnostic trace fossil ass