The Pennsylvanian is, on 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 beds of this age are widespread.
The PaleozoicEra is the first of three geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic and ends 251.9 Ma at the start of the Mesozoic Era. The Paleozoic is subdivided into six geologic periods, Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian. Some geological timescales divide the Paleozoic informally into early and late sub-eras: the Early Paleozoic consisting of the Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian; the Late Paleozoic consisting of the Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian.
The Phanerozoic is the current and the latest of the four geologic eons in the Earth's geologic time scale, covering the time period from 538.8 million years ago to the present. It is the eon during which abundant animal and plant life has proliferated, diversified and colonized various niches on the Earth's surface, beginning with the Cambrian period when animals first developed hard shells that can be clearly preserved in the fossil record. The time before the Phanerozoic, collectively called the Precambrian, is now divided into the Hadean, Archaean and Proterozoic eons.
The Early Jurassic Epoch is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event, 201.3 Ma, and ends at the start of the Middle Jurassic 174.7 ±0.8 Ma.
Bolosauridae is an extinct family of parareptiles known from the latest Carboniferous (Gzhelian) or earliest Permian (Asselian) to the early Guadalupian epoch of North America, China, Germany, Russia and France. The bolosaurids were unusual for their time period by being bipedal, the oldest known tetrapods to have been so. Their teeth suggest that they were herbivores. The bolosaurids were a rare group and died out without any known descendants. The following cladogram shows the phylogenetic position of the Bolosauridae, from Johannes Müller, Jin-Ling Li and Robert R. Reisz, 2008.
The Cisuralian is the first series/epoch of the Permian. The Cisuralian was preceded by the Pennsylvanian and followed by the Guadalupian. The Cisuralian Epoch is named after the western slopes of the Ural Mountains in Russia and Kazakhstan and dates between 298.9 ± 0.15 – 272.3 ± 0.5 Ma.
Dinantian is the name of a series or epoch from the Lower Carboniferous system in western Europe between 359.2 to 326.4 million years ago. It can stand for a series of rocks in Europe or the time span in which they were deposited.
Eupelycosauria is a large clade of animals characterized by the unique shape of their skull, encompassing all mammals and their closest extinct relatives. They first appeared 308 million years ago during the Early Pennsylvanian epoch, with the fossils of Echinerpeton and perhaps an even earlier genus, Protoclepsydrops, representing just one of the many stages in the evolution of mammals, in contrast to their earlier amniote ancestors.
The Silesian is in the geologic timescale of Europe a series or epoch, a subdivision of the Carboniferous system or period.
Series are subdivisions of rock layers based on the age of the rock and formally defined by international conventions of the geological timescale. A series is therefore a sequence of strata defining a chronostratigraphic unit. Series are subdivisions of systems and are themselves divided into stages.
Hadronector is a prehistoric coelacanth which lived during the Carboniferous period of Montana, North America. Hadronector is the type genus in the family of Hadronectoridae.
The Virgilian series is the youngest part of the Pennsylvanian epoch in the North American geologic classification series. During Virgilian times, the top of the Conemaugh and the entire Monongahela group were deposited. As with other Carboniferous series, it comprises cyclothems, or distinct cycles of sedimentary rock formation.
The Rotliegend, Rotliegend Group or Rotliegendes is a lithostratigraphic unit of latest Carboniferous to Guadalupian age that is found in the subsurface of large areas in western and central Europe. The Rotliegend mainly consists of sandstone layers. It is usually covered by the Zechstein and lies on top of regionally different formations of late Carboniferous age.
Cheirodopsis is an extinct genus of marine ray-finned fish that lived during the Viséan stage of the Mississippian epoch. It contains a single species, C. geikiei from what is now Glencartholm, Scotland.
Aeduella is an extinct genus of prehistoric freshwater bony fish that lived during the Gzhelian and Asselian-Sakmarian ages in what is now France, Germany, Switzerland and the Czech Republik.
Charleuxia is an extinct genus of prehistoric freshwater ray-finned fish that lived during the Asselian age in what is now Burgundy, France (Autun). It may possibly belong to the genus Paramblypterus.
The Namurian is a stage in the regional stratigraphy of northwest Europe, with an age between roughly 331 and 319 Ma. It is a subdivision of the Carboniferous system or period, as well as the regional Silesian series. The Namurian is named for the Belgian city and province of Namur where strata of this age occur. The Millstone Grit Group in the lithostratigraphy of northern England and parts of Wales is also of Namurian age.
The Stephanian is a stage in the regional stratigraphy of northwest Europe with an age between roughly 307.5 and 299 Ma. It is a subdivision of the Carboniferous system or period and the regional Silesian series. The uppermost units of the Coal Measures of England and Wales are probably of Stephanian age, though the larger part of this formation is referred to the earlier Westphalian. The stage derives its name from the city of Saint-Étienne for its coal mining basin in eastern central France where strata of this age occur.
Paleontology in Georgia refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Georgia. During the early part of the Paleozoic, Georgia was largely covered by seawater. Although no major Paleozoic discoveries have been uncovered in Georgia, the local fossil record documents a great diversity of ancient life in the state. Inhabitants of Georgia's early Paleozoic sea included corals, stromatolites, and trilobites. During the Carboniferous local sea levels dropped and a vast complex of richly vegetated delta formed in the state. These swampy deltas were home to early tetrapods which left behind footprints that would later fossilize. Little is known of Triassic Georgia and the Jurassic is absent altogether from the state's rock record. During the Cretaceous, however, southern Georgia was covered by a sea that was home to invertebrates and fishes. On land, the tree Araucaria grew, and dinosaurs inhabited the state. Southern Georgia remained submerged by shallow seawater into the ensuing Paleogene and Neogene periods of the Cenozoic era. These seas were home to small coral reefs and a variety of other marine invertebrates. By the Pleistocene the state was mostly dry land covered in forests and grasslands home to mammoths and giant ground sloths. Local coal mining activity has a history of serendipitous Carboniferous-aged fossil discoveries. Another major event in Georgian paleontology was a 1963 discovery of Pleistocene fossils in Bartow County. Shark teeth are the Georgia state fossil.
Paleontology in Rhode Island refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Rhode Island has a relatively sparse fossil record. Among its more common fossils are plant remains that are frequently associated with the state's coal beds. During the early Paleozoic, Rhode Island was at least partially submerged under a sea inhabited by trilobites. During the Carboniferous period the state became a swampy environment where lush vegetation included trees more than 50 feet high. Local animal life included arachnids and insects like cockroaches. Rift basins formed locally during the Permian. The ensuing Triassic and Jurassic periods are absent from the state's rock record. Little is known about the state's Cretaceous history. The Paleogene and Neogene periods are also missing from Rhode Island's rock record. During the Pleistocene the state was subjected to glacial activity. Notable local fossil finds have included previously unknown kinds of insect and abundant ancient amphibian trackways.
