The Westphalian is a

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

in the regional

stratigraphy Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock (geology), rock layers (Stratum, strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary rock, sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigrap ...

of northwest Europe with an age between roughly 313 and 304 Ma (million years ago). It is a subdivision of the

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...

system A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment (systems), environment, is described by its boundaries, ...

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

and the regional Silesian

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

. The Westphalian is named for the region of

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

(

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Westfalen'') in western

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

where strata of this age occur. The

Coal Measures In lithostratigraphy, the coal measures are the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. In the United Kingdom, the Coal Measures Group consists of the Upper Coal Measures Formation, the Middle Coal Measures Formation and the Lower Coal ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

are also largely of Westphalian age though they also extend into the succeeding Stephanian. The Westphalian age is preceded by the

Namurian The Namurian is a stage in the regional stratigraphy of northwest Europe with an age between roughly 326 and 313 Ma (million years ago). It is a subdivision of the Carboniferous system or period and the regional Silesian series. The Namurian is ...

stage/age (which corresponds to the Millstone Grit Series of Great Britain) and succeeded by the Stephanian stage/age (which corresponds to the uppermost part of the

of Great Britain). In the official

geologic timescale The geologic time scale, or geological time scale, (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochronol ...

of the ICS, the Westphalian is placed within the Pennsylvanian epoch (318-299 Ma).F M Gradstein, J G Ogg, A G Smith et al 2004, ‘A Geologic Time Scale 2004’. The (regionally defined) Westphalian stage corresponds to the upper part of the (internationally used)

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

stage together with the whole of the

Moscovian Moscovian may refer to: *An inhabitant of Moscow, the capital of Russia *Something of, from, or related to Moscow *Moscovian (Carboniferous) The Moscovian is in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS geologic timescale a stage (strati ...

and

Kasimovian The Kasimovian is a geochronology, geochronologic age (geology), age or chronostratigraphy, chronostratigraphic stage (stratigraphy), stage in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS geologic timescale. It is the third stage in the Penn ...

stages. Frequent references appear in scientific literature to a Westphalian epoch or Westphalian

reflecting the stage's earlier status.

Life

Amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

s were diverse and dominated communities. The collapse of the rainforest ecology between the Moscovian and Kasimovian removed many amphibian species who did not survive as well in the cooler, drier conditions. Reptiles, however prospered due to specific key adaptations and underwent a major evolutionary radiation, in response to the drier climate that led to the rainforest collapse.M. Alan Kazlev (1998
The Carboniferous Period of the Paleozoic Era: 299 to 359 million years ago

Palaeos Palaeos.com is a web site on biology, paleontology, phylogeny and geology and which covers the history of Earth. The site is well respected and has been used as a reference by professional paleontologists such as Michael J. Benton, the professor of ...

.org, Retrieved on 2008-06-23

References

{{Geological history, p, p, state=collapsed Carboniferous geochronology Pennsylvanian geochronology . Carboniferous Germany Kasimovian Moscovian (Carboniferous) Stratigraphy of Europe