= Carboniferous
{c}
The <Carboniferous> is the <Paleozoic> geological period between the <Devonian> and the <Permian>, approximately 359–299 million years ago. Its subdivisions include the <Mississippian> and <Pennsylvanian>. The name refers to the importance of coal-bearing rock successions, rather than implying that every <Carboniferous> environment was a coal swamp.<International Chronostratigraphic Chart by the International Commission on Stratigraphy>[Version 2024/12; Carboniferous boundaries and subdivisions]{ref}
<Coal> records the accumulation and burial of <plant> material in settings where production and preservation exceeded decay. <Carboniferous> <fossils> and the <sediments> around them can therefore be used together: a <plant> compression constrains the vegetation, while the enclosing deposit supplies evidence about the environment of preservation. A <fossil> assemblage is a sample from particular places and preservation conditions, not a census of all life during the period.
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