The Carboniferous Period

Global review of the Devonian-Carboniferous Boundary: an introduction

“…It is interesting to note that this timeline should be younger than 359.0 Ma according to the data in Davydov (2020), which changes the widely accepted age for the DCB of 359.2 or 359.3 (e.g. Aretz et al, 2020). A timeline characterised by the floral turnover (e.g.…”

“…To avoid any stratigraphic chaos and ambiguity where and how the DCB should be placed in the light of the current ongoing discussions, it has to be stressed that the GSSP at La Serre is still valid and our current reference (Aretz et al, 2020). This would only change in the future if ICS ratifies a different proposal.…”

Supplemental Material: Recalibrating the Devonian time scale: A new method for integrating radioisotopic and astrochronologic ages in a Bayesian framework

“…We followed the same procedure to append the Carboniferous conodont biozones from the GTS2020 (Fig. 23.7, Aretz et al, 2020) to the Becker 2020 scale, matching the thickness of the S. sulcata zone. We added the Pridoli and Ludlow conodont biozones of the Silurian using Figure 9 of McAdams et al (2017), matching the thickness of the Ancyrodelloides trigonicus through the Caudicriodus postwoschmidti/Caudicriodus hesperius zones on the Kaufmann scale and the thickness of the A. trigonicus through the C. hesperius zones between on the Becker 2012 and Becker 2020 scales.…”

Foraminifers in the Holkerian Stratotype, regional substage in Britain: key taxa for the Viséan subdivision

“…Foraminifers of the Cf5α subzone were not recognized, and it could be assumed that they should be represented in the basal bentonite and overlying dolomite beds, located in the lower 14 m of the Lives Formation. Furthermore, foraminifers described in Western Europe do not allow a clear correlation with the regional substages in Russia, and the Tulian has been commonly correlated with the Livian or Holkerian in the past (e.g., Conil et al 1977), and more currently (Alekseev 2009;Davydov et al 2012;Aretz et al 2020). However, as demonstrated in , the likely equivalence of the Tulian and Holkerian needs to be further investigated, whereas, owing to the absence of data at the base of the Livian, this correlation can never be proved nor supported biostratigraphically.…”

“…The importance of establishing precise correlations between these regional substages is important for the informal subdivision of the Viséan in Western Europe into lower, middle and upper divisions. As numerous authors have claimed (e.g., Poty et al 2014), the Viséan Stage represents a large time interval (c. 17 Myr sensu Aretz et al 2020), and there is a developing trend to formally define much shorter and distinctive time units useful for global correlations. The Holkerian, as representative of the middle Viséan in Western Europe, is included at the base of the upper Viséan in Russia, where the Viséan is informally subdivided only into lower and upper Viséan intervals (e.g., Reitlinger et al 1996).…”