Moscovian (Carboniferous)

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Moscovian
315.2 ± 0.2 – 307.0 ± 0.1 Ma
Chronology
Etymology
Name formalityFormal
Usage information
Celestial body Earth
Regional usageGlobal (ICS)
Time scale(s) usedICS Time Scale
Definition
Chronological unit Age
Stratigraphic unit Stage
Time span formalityFormal
Lower boundary definitionNot formally defined
Lower boundary definition candidates FAD of the Conodont Idiognathoides postsulcatus or Declinognathodus donetzianus
Lower boundary GSSP candidate section(s)
Upper boundary definitionNot formally defined
Upper boundary definition candidatesFAD of the Fusulinid Protriticites or 1 million years older Montiparus montiparus
Upper boundary GSSP candidate section(s)
  • Southern Ural mountains
  • Southwest USA
  • Nashui, Luodian County, Guizhou, China

The Moscovian is in the ICS geologic timescale a stage or age in the Pennsylvanian, the youngest subsystem of the Carboniferous. The Moscovian age lasted from 315.2 to 307 Ma, [2] is preceded by the Bashkirian and is followed by the Kasimovian. The Moscovian overlaps with the European regional Westphalian stage and the North American Atokan and Desmoinesian stages.

Contents

Name and definition

The Moscovian Stage was introduced by Sergei Nikitin (1850 - 1909) in 1890, using brachiopods in the Moscow Basin of European Russia. Nikitin named the stage after Moscow, then a major city and now the capital of a terrorist state

The base of the Moscovian is close to the first appearances of the conodonts Declinognathodus donetzianus and Idiognathoides postsulcatus [3] or otherwise the fusulinid Aljutovella aljutovica. [4] Because the fusulinid species are regionally different, they can not be used for worldwide correlation. A Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the Moscovian Stage has yet to be defined (2008). A proposal is to use the first appearance of the conodont Diplognathodus ellesmerensis , but since the species is rare and its evolution relatively unknown, it has not been accepted yet. [5]

The top of the Moscovian (base of the Kasimovian) is at the base of the fusulinid biozone of Obsoletes obsoletes and Protriticites pseudomontiparus, or with the first appearance of the ammonite genus Parashumardites.

Subdivisions

In European Russia and Eastern Europe, where the stage was first recognized, the Moscovian is subdivided into four regional substages: Vereiskian, Kashirskian, Podolskian, and Myachkovskian, named after towns near Moscow (Vereya, Kashira, Podolsk, and Myachkovo).

The Moscovian can biostratigraphically be divided into five conodont biozones:

Related Research Articles

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 million years ago. 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.

The Pennsylvanian is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the younger of two subperiods of the Carboniferous Period. It lasted from roughly 323.2 million years ago to 298.9 million years ago. As with most other geochronologic units, the rock beds that define the Pennsylvanian are well identified, but the exact date of the start and end are uncertain by a few hundred thousand years. The Pennsylvanian is named after the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, where the coal-productive beds of this age are widespread.

In the geologic timescale, the Asselian is the earliest geochronologic age or lowermost chronostratigraphic stage of the Permian. It is a subdivision of the Cisuralian Epoch or Series. The Asselian lasted between 298.9 and 293.52 million years ago (Ma). It was preceded by the Gzhelian and followed by the Sakmarian.

The Bashkirian is in the ICS geologic timescale the lowest stage or oldest age of the Pennsylvanian. The Bashkirian age lasted from 323.2 to 315.2 Ma, is preceded by the Serpukhovian and is followed by the Moscovian.

In the geologic timescale, the Capitanian is an age or stage of the Permian. It is also the uppermost or latest of three subdivisions of the Guadalupian Epoch or Series. The Capitanian lasted between 264.28 and 259.51 million years ago. It was preceded by the Wordian and followed by the Wuchiapingian.

In the geologic timescale, the Kungurian is an age or stage of the Permian. It is the latest or upper of four subdivisions of the Cisuralian Epoch or Series. The Kungurian lasted between 283.5 and 273.01 million years ago (Ma). It was preceded by the Artinskian and followed by the Roadian. It corresponds roughly to the Leonardian Stage, covering the span from 280 to 270.6 ± 0.7 Ma in the North American system.

In the geologic timescale, the Wordian is an age or stage of the Permian. It is the middle of three subdivisions of the Guadalupian Epoch or Series. The Wordian lasted between 266.9 and 264.28 million years ago (Ma). It was preceded by the Roadian and followed by the Capitanian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tournaisian</span> First stage of the Carboniferous

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viséan</span> Second stage of the Carboniferous

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serpukhovian</span> Third stage of the Carboniferous

The Serpukhovian is in the ICS geologic timescale the uppermost stage or youngest age of the Mississippian, the lower subsystem of the Carboniferous. The Serpukhovian age lasted from 330.9 Ma to 323.2 Ma. It is preceded by the Visean and is followed by the Bashkirian. The Serpukhovian correlates with the lower part of the Namurian Stage of European stratigraphy and the middle and upper parts of the Chesterian Stage of North American stratigraphy.

The Kasimovian is a geochronologic age or chronostratigraphic stage in the ICS geologic timescale. It is the third stage in the Pennsylvanian, lasting from 307 to 303.7 Ma. The Kasimovian Stage follows the Moscovian and is followed by the Gzhelian. The Kasimovian saw an extinction event which occurred around 305 mya, referred to as the Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse. It roughly corresponds to the Missourian in North American geochronology and the Stephanian in western European geochronology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gzhelian</span> Seventh and final stage of the Carboniferous

The Gzhelian is an age in the ICS geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest stage of the Pennsylvanian, the youngest subsystem of the Carboniferous. The Gzhelian lasted from 303.7 to 298.9 Ma. It follows the Kasimovian age/stage and is followed by the Asselian age/stage, the oldest subdivision of the Permian system.

The Westphalian is a stage in the regional stratigraphy of northwest Europe with an age between roughly 313 and 304 Ma. It is a subdivision of the Carboniferous system or period and the regional Silesian series. The Westphalian is named for the region of Westphalia in western Germany where strata of this age occur. The Coal Measures of England and Wales are also largely of Westphalian age though they also extend into the succeeding Stephanian.

The Norian is a division of the Triassic Period. It has the rank of an age (geochronology) or stage (chronostratigraphy). It lasted from ~227 to 208.5 million years ago. It was preceded by the Carnian and succeeded by the Rhaetian.

Idiognathodus is an extinct conodont genus in the family Idiognathodontidae.

Streptognathodus is an extinct genus of conodonts from the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian.

Conodonts are an extinct class of animals whose feeding apparatuses called teeth or elements are common microfossils found in strata dating from the Stage 10 of the Furongian, the fourth and final series of the Cambrian, to the Rhaetian stage of the Late Triassic. These elements can be used alternatively to or in correlation with other types of fossils in the subfield of the stratigraphy named biostratigraphy.

Neognathodus is an extinct genus of conodonts.

Declinognathodus is an extinct genus of platform conodonts.

Idiognathoides is an extinct genus of conodonts.

References

  1. ↑ "Chart/Time Scale". www.stratigraphy.org. International Commission on Stratigraphy.
  2. ↑ Gradstein, F.M.; Ogg, J.G. & Smith, A.G.; 2004: A Geologic Time Scale 2004, Cambridge University Press
  3. ↑
    • Nemyrovska, T.I.; 1999: Bashkirian conodonts of the Donets Basin, Ukraine. Scr. Geol. 119, pp 1–115 (in Russian).
  4. ↑
    • Solovieva, M.N.; 1986: Zonal fusulinid scale of the Moscovian Stage based on a revision of the type sections of intrastage subdivisions, Vopr. Mikropaleontol
  5. ↑ Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine a report by the taskforce to establish a Bashkirian-Moscovian boundary (Groves et al. (2008))
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