Moscovian Age

What happens during this time?

Flora

• Large lycopsids interspersed with cordiates, sphenopsids, and other groups. 

  • These forests altered landscapes, creating river systems with multiple channels and stable alluvial islands.

  • Sphenopsids and ferns are typical in the wetland environments

  • Dryland settings were also present; dominated by "large, coriaceous gymnosperm leaves with mesic to xeric traits, including Cordaites, Lesleya, and Taeniopteris." (Bashforth et al., 2016)

Fauna

• The earliest undisputed reptile, Hylonomus, appears around 312 Ma

• World's smallest vertebrate footprints 315 Ma (Stimson et al., 2012)

• The earliest known spider appears, Arthrolycosa wolterbeeki (Dunlop, 2023)