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Carboniferous

Fifth period of the Paleozoic EraSubdivision of the Carboniferous according to the ICS, as of 2024.Vertical axis scale: Millions of years agoEtymologyName formalityFormalNickname(s)Age of Amphibians or ReptilesUsage informationCelestial bodyEarthRegional usageGlobal (ICS)Time scale(s) usedICS Time ScaleDefinitionChronological unitPeriodStratigraphic unitSystemFirst proposed byWilliam Daniel Conybeare and William Phillips, 1822Time span formalityFormalLower boundary definitionFAD of the ConodontSiphonodella sulcata (discovered to have biostratigraphic issues as of 2006)Lower boundary GSSPLa Serre, Montagne Noire, France43°33′20″N3°21′26″E / 43.5555°N 3.3573°E / 43.5555; 3.3573Lower GSSP ratified1990Upper boundary definitionFAD of the ConodontStreptognathodus isolatus within the morphotypeStreptognathodus wabaunsensis chronoclineUpper boundary GSSPAidaralash, Ural Mountains, Kazakhstan50°14′45″N57°53′29″E / 50.2458°N 57.8914°E / 50.2458; 57.8914Upper GSSP ratified1996Atmospheric and climatic dataSea level above present dayFalling from 120 m to present-day level throughout the Mississippian, then rising steadily to about 80 m at end of periodThe Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoicera that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period 358.86 Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Permian Period, 298.9 Ma.

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