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[[File:ICS Carbonif.jpg|thumb|right|Figure 1. ICS Carboniferous timeline.<ref name=ICS12>International Commission on Stratigraphy."International Chronostratigraphic Chart v2012" Accessed Nov.16, 2018 [Online]. Available: https://www.britannica.com/science/Mississippian-Subperiod/images-videos/media/385703/133170</ref>]]
<onlyinclude>The '''Carboniferous''' was the fifth geological [[Geologic time scale|period]] of the [[Paleozoic]] era, extending from approximately 358.9 million to 298.9 million years ago. It consists of two sub-periods: the earlier Mississippian and the later Pennsylvanian.</onlyinclude> The Mississippian is divided into Upper, Middle, and Lower epochs, as is the Pennsylvania (Figure 1).<ref name=ICS>International Commission on Stratigraphy."International Chronostratigraphic Chart v2018" Accessed Nov.8, 2018 [Online]. Available: http://www.stratigraphy.org/index.php/ics-chart-timescale</ref> The name "Carboniferous" is derived from the latin word ''carbo'' for "charcoal" and ''ferrous'' for "bearing" or "carrying". The Carboniferous is the first period in which today's [[coal]] beds began to form.<ref name=GTS>Gradstein, F. M. "The Geologic Time Scale 2012". Volume 2. 1st ed. Amsterdam ; Boston: Elsevier, 2012.</ref>

The Carboniferous was the period when faunal life became established on land. Floral life became established on land during the previous period, the [[Devonian]] period, and began to flourish during the Carboniferous (Figure 2). There was massive [[biodiversity|diversification]] of species for both plants and animals. The Carboniferous was a period of time that marked a decrease or extinction of many early Paleozoic organisms (e.g. stromatoporoid, tabulate corals, and trilobites) due to changing global conditions and newer, more competitive organisms (e.g. reptiles and amphibians (Figure 3)) beating them out for resources.<ref name=GTS/> A key evolutionary development of the time was the amniote egg, an egg with a hard shell that contained all the needed materials within it for the development of the baby held within it (like a modern-day bird's egg), making the transition to land much easier for animals. The beginning of the Carboniferous, during the Mississippian subperiod, was tropical-like, humid, and had high oxygen levels. These conditions allowed insects to grow to an incredible size (Figures 4 and 5).<ref name=UCB>University of California, Museum of Paleontology."The Carboniferous Period" Accessed Nov.16, 2018 [Online]. Available: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/carboniferous/carboniferous.php</ref>

[[File:Meyers b15 s0272b.jpg|300px|thumb|center|Figure 2. Artist rendition of Carboniferous plants<ref>WikiMedia Commons."File:Meyers b15 s0272b.jpg" Accessed Nov.16, 2018 [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Meyers_b15_s0272b.jpg</ref>]]

<gallery mode=packed widths="300px" heights="100px">
File:Pederpes22small.jpg|Figure 3. The early amphibian-like tetrapod, Pederpes.<ref>WikiMedia Commons."File:Pederpes22small.jpg" Accessed Nov.16, 2018 [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pederpes22small.jpg</ref>
File:Pulmonoscopius BW.jpg|Figure 4. Pulmonoscorpius reached a length of up to 70 cm.<ref>WikiMedia Commons."File:Pulmonoscopius BW.jpg" Accessed Nov.16, 2018 [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pulmonoscopius_BW.jpg</ref>
File:Meganeura.jpg|Figure 5. Meganeura had wingspans of up to 75 cm.<ref>WikiMedia Commons. "File:Meganeura.jpg" Accessed Nov.16, 2018 [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Meganeura.jpg</ref>
</gallery>

The Carboniferous saw the assembly of one of Earth's largest [[supercontinent]]s, Pangea. All of the Earth's land masses combined into a singular continent causing major changes in ocean [[thermohaline circulation|circulation]]. Combined with the development of terrestrial plants and the accompanying processes of [[photosynthesis]] and cellular respiration, the Carboniferous experienced increased continental [[weathering]] and [[erosion]] rates, strong fluctuations in atmospheric [[carbon dioxide]], significant global cooling and [[global warming|warming]] events, and [[sea level change]]s. The increased availability of organic material accompanied by the ability to quickly bury the material (from the increased erosion rates) allowed for the widespread formation of the first coal beds. The end of the Carboniferous, during the Pennsylvanian subperiod, is marked by the Gondwana super[[glaciation]].<ref name=GTS/>

[[File:MississippianMarbleUT.jpg|400px|thumb|center|Figure 6. Lower Mississippian marble in Utah.<ref>WikiMedia Commons."File:MississippianMarbleUT.jpg" Accessed Nov.16, 2018 [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MississippianMarbleUT.JPG</ref>]]

[[File:ChronostratChart2018-08.jpg|700px|thumb|center|Figure 7. The ICS Chronostratigraphic Chart<ref name=ICS/>]]

==For Further Reading==
*[[Geologic time scale]]
*[[Geologic period]]
*[[Supercontinent]]
*[[Glaciation]]
*[[Stratigraphy]]
*Or explore a [[Special:Random|random page]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
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Carboniferous - Revision history

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2dev>Jmdonev at 02:32, 2 December 2018