Mississippian Epoch

What happened during this time?

Geophysical

• The climate in the Early Mississippian is hot and warm but becomes cooler and wetter toward the end

• The Epoch begins with carbon dioxide levels around 3,500 ppm, and ends with ~700 ppm

• Oxygen levels are some of the highest at around 31.9% 

Biological

Flora

• The earliest forests of the Devonian were devastated by the Late Devonian extinction 

• Shrubby pteridosperms now dominate the landscape where progymnosperms, like aneurophyte vines and archaeopterid trees stood

  • Seed ferns, like the Lyginopteridales and Medullosales diversify during the Mississippian

  • The progymnosperms, such as the Stenokoleales and the Noeggerathians are on the landscape; Stenokolales go extinct at the end of the Mississippian

• Protolepidodenrids survive until the end of the Mississippian

• The Late Mississippian begins the dominance of the arborescent lycopsids (e.g., Lepidodendron) and arborescent horsetails, (e.g. Calamites)

• The Sphenophyllales dominate as understory, shrubby plants, as well as the Zygopteridales and Stauropteridales ferns

• Some cladoxylopsid ferns still survive (e.g. Cladoxylon) until the Late Mississippian

• Some modern leptosporangiate ferns (Polypodiidae) begin to appear

Fauna

• Terrestrial invertebrates increase in new niches created by plants

• Tetrapods radiate extensively, especially the Whatcheeriidae and Crassigyrinidae

  • The first 15 million years of the Carboniferous had very limited terrestrial fossils, known as Romer's gap

  • There is decrease of the Devonian fish-like ichthyostegalian labyrinthodonts, and an increase in the temnospondyl and reptiliomorphan amphibians

• Detritivores pervasive with herbivory beginning at the end of Mississippian