The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period 358.9 million years ago (mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, 298.9 mya. The name Carboniferous means "coal-bearing", from the Latin carbō ("coal") and ferō, and refers to the many coal beds formed globally during that time.
Chimaeras are cartilaginous fish in the order Chimaeriformes, known informally as ghost sharks, rat fish, spookfish, or rabbit fish; the last three names are not to be confused with rattails, Opisthoproctidae, or Siganidae, respectively.
The Romualdo Formation is a geologic Konservat-Lagerstätte in northeastern Brazil's Araripe Basin where the states of Pernambuco, Piauí and Ceará come together. The geological formation, previously designated as the Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation, named after the village of Santana do Cariri, lies at the base of the Araripe Plateau. It was discovered by Johann Baptist von Spix in 1819. The strata were deposited during the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous in a lacustrine rift basin with shallow marine incursions of the proto-Atlantic. At that time, the South Atlantic was opening up in a long narrow shallow sea.
The Tournaisian is in the ICS geologic timescale the lowest stage or oldest age of the Mississippian, the oldest subsystem of the Carboniferous. The Tournaisian age lasted from 358.9 Ma to 346.7 Ma. It is preceded by the Famennian and is followed by the Viséan. In global stratigraphy, the Tournaisian contains two substages: the Hastarian and Ivorian. These two substages were originally designated as European regional stages.
The Visean, Viséan or Visian is an age in the ICS geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the second stage of the Mississippian, the lower subsystem of the Carboniferous. The Visean lasted from 346.7 to 330.9 Ma. It follows the Tournaisian age/stage and is followed by the Serpukhovian age/stage.
Darren William Naish is a British vertebrate paleontologist, author and science communicator.
Acanthodes is an extinct genus of acanthodian fish. Species have been found in Europe, North America, and Asia, spanning the Early Carboniferous to the Early Permian, making it one of the youngest known acanthodian genera.
Listracanthus is a genus of extinct chondrichthyan with uncertain affinities. Species of Listracanthus are known primarily from their tremendous, feather-like denticles, which range up to four inches in length. The denticles had a large main spine, from which secondary spines emanate from the sides, like the barbs of a feather or a comb. Listracanthus first appeared in late Carboniferous strata in North America, and eventually disappear from the fossil record some time during the Early Triassic.
The Wessex Formation is a fossil-rich English geological formation that dates from the Berriasian to Barremian stages of the Early Cretaceous. It forms part of the Wealden Group and underlies the younger Vectis Formation and overlies the Durlston Formation. The dominant lithology of this unit is mudstone with some interbedded sandstones. It is part of the strata of the Wessex Basin, exposed in both the Isle of Purbeck and the Isle of Wight. While the Purbeck sections are largely barren of vertebrate remains, the Isle of Wight sections are well known for producing the richest and most diverse fauna in Early Cretaceous Europe.
Lochmocercus is an extinct genus of prehistoric coelacanth fishes which lived during the Carboniferous Period.
East Kirkton Quarry, or simply East Kirkton, is a former limestone quarry in West Lothian, Scotland, now a renowned fossil site. The quarry is known for terrestrial and freshwater fossils about 335 million years old, from the late Viséan stage of the Mississippian subperiod. The quarry is a 200 meter-long depression located in the town of Bathgate. Geographically, it sits at the Bathgate Hills near the center of the Midland Valley, a fossil-rich region of southeast Scotland. The site is dominated by volcanic tuff, limestone, and silica deposits of large freshwater lakes associated with hot springs and local basaltic (high-iron) volcanism. Three geological intervals are exposed: the East Kirkton Limestone (oldest), Little Cliff Shale (middle), and Geikie Tuff (youngest).
Cummingella is a genus of proetid trilobite in the family Phillipsiidae that lived from the earliest Carboniferous until the last species' extinction in the Middle Permian. Fossils have been found in corresponding marine strata of Western Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Eyam Limestone is a geologic formation in the Peak District, England. It preserves fossils dating back to the Viséan stage of the Carboniferous period, and represents a marine environment.
The Ballagan Formation is a geologic formation in Scotland and England. It preserves fossils dating back to the early part of the Carboniferous period. Its name comes from the "Ballagan Beds" of Ballagan Glen, near Strathblane, which has a good example of this geological formation.
Acanthorhachis is an enigmatic extinct genus of chondrichthyan from the Carboniferous period. Its name is derived from the Greek word acanthos meaning "spine" and the Greek suffix for spine, -rhachis. This is due to the spine-like dermal denticles and their subsidiary spines, which coated the exterior of the animal. The authors who erected this genus suggested the common name "The Spiny Spined Shark." The type species Listracanthus spinatus was in 1896 named by Herbert Bolton.
Acondylacanthus is an extinct genus of Euselachian shark from the Paleozoic era. The type species is A.gracilis. Most species are known from the Carboniferous of America and the British isles. A. jaekeli is known from the upper Frasnian of Germany and the Upper Famennian of Russia. This genus is based entirely upon isolated dorsal fin spines, and thus may later be found synonymous with tooth-based genera. Many species have been ascribed to this genus, though there has been some confusion with Ctenachanthus. This genus is in need of review and research.
Antliodus is an extinct genus of petalodont from the Carboniferous Period. It is known from the Mississippian of the United States, Britain, and Belgium Though many species have been reported in the past, a lack of recent revisions means some may be dubious.
Ceratodontiformes is the only extant order of lungfish, containing the families Neoceratodontidae, Lepidosirenidae, and Protopteridae as well as many other extinct groups. Members of this group are the only lungfish known to have survived the Permian-Triassic extinction event. Although lungfish originated in marine environments, the Ceratodontiformes have been an exclusively freshwater group since the Carboniferous.
Reesodus is an extinct genus of hybodontiform. It lived from the Tournaisian age of the Early Carboniferous to the Wordian age of the Permian, and remains have been found in England, Russia and Oman. The generic name honors Jan Rees, who first realized that the fossils belong to a distinct genus.
Cooleyella is an extinct genus of shark which lived from the Carboniferous to the Permian of the United States, Russia, UK and Oman. Several species have been described. It is currently the only genus placed in the family Anachronistidae.
