Carboniferous
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The Carboniferous is a major division of the geologic timescale that extends from the end of the Devonian period, about 340 million years ago (mya), to the beginning of the Permian period, about 280 mya. As with most older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the exact dates are uncertain by 5–10 million years. The Carboniferous is named for the extensive coal beds of that age found in England and Western Europe. In North America, the first third of the Carboniferous is called the Mississippian period, and the remainder is called the Pennsylvanian.
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Subdivisions
The Carboniferous is usually broken into Lower and Upper subdivisions. The Faunal stages from youngest to oldest are:
Gzelian (most recent)
- Noginskian/Virgilian
Kasimovian
- Klazminskian
- Dorogomilovksian/Virgilian
- Chamovnicheskian/Cantabrian/Missourian
- Krevyakinskian/Cantabrian/Missourian
Moscovian
- Myachkovskian/Bolsovian/Desmoinesian
- Podolskian/Desmoinesian
- Kashirskian/Atokan
- Vereiskian/Bolsovian/Atokan
Bashkirian/Morrowan
- Melekesskian/Duckmantian
- Cheremshanskian/Langsettian
- Yeadonian
- Marsdenian
- Kinderscoutian
Serpukhovian
- Alportian
- Chokierian/Chesterian/Elvirian
- Arnsbergian/Elvirian
- Pendleian
Visean
- Brigantian/St Genevieve/Gasperian/Chesterian
- Asbian/Meramecian
- Holkerian/Salem
- Arundian/Warsaw/Meramecian
- Chadian/Keokuk/Osagean/Osage
Tournaisian (oldest)
- Ivorian/Osagean/Osage
- Hastarian/Kinderhookian/Chautauquan/Chouteau
Paleogeography
The southern continents remained tied together in the supercontinent Gondwana, which collided with North America-Europe (Laurussia) along the present line of eastern North America. In the same time frame, much of present eastern Eurasian plate welded itself to Europe along the line of the Ural mountains. Most of the Mesozoic supercontinent of Pangea was now assembled, although pieces of present east Asia still remained detached.
Rocks and coal
Carboniferous rocks in Europe and eastern North America largely consist of a repeated sequence of limestone, sandstone, shale and coal beds. In North America, the early Carboniferous is largely marine limestone, which accounts for the division of the Carboniferous into two periods in North American schemes. The Carboniferous coal beds provided much of the fuel for power generation during the Industrial Revolution and are still of great economic importance.
The large coal deposits of the Carboniferous primarily owe their existence to two factors. The first of these is the appearance of bark bearing trees (and in particular the evolution of the bark fiber lignin). The second is the lower sea levels that occurred during the Carboniferous as compared to the Devonian period. This allowed for the development of extensive lowland swamps and forests in North America and Europe. It has been hypothesized that large quantities of wood were buried during this period because animals and decomposing bacteria had not yet evolved that could effectively digest the new lignin. It has also been observed that the extensive burial of organically produced carbon led to a buildup of surplus oxygen in the atmosphere resulting in concentrations up to 80% higher than today. The oxygen increase is implicated in increased wildfire activity, as well as the expression of gigantism in certain insects and amphibians, whose size is constrained by respiratory systems that are limited in their ability to diffuse oxygen.
In eastern North America, marine beds are more common in the older part of the period than the later part and are almost entirely absent by the Late Carboniferous. More diverse geology existed elsewhere of course. Marine life is especially rich in crinoids and other echinoderms. Brachiopods were abundant. Trilobites became quite uncommon. On land, large and diverse plant populations existed. Land vertebrates included large amphibians.
Life
One of the greatest evolutionary innovations of the Carboniferous was the amniote egg, which allowed for the further exploitation of the land by certain tetrapods. The amniote egg allowed the ancestors of birds, mammals, and reptiles to reproduce on land by preventing the desiccation, or drying-out, of the embryo inside.