DINANTIAN
Geological Survey of Belgium, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Jenner street, 13, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium; E-mail: eric.groessens@sciencesnaturelles.be.
Abstract
ABSTRACT. The name "Dinantien" was introduced by A. de Lapparent in the third edition of his treatise of geology, to replace the ancient expression "terrains anthraxifères". The Dinantian was at that time regarded as a stage and subdivided into three substages. The middle subdivision, the "Waulsortien", having been recognised as a sedimentary facies, soon disappeared from the chronostratigraphical time scale. As a result of the ballots taken by the Subcommission of Carboniferous stratigraphy in 2003, the Carboniferous System is now subdivided into two subsystems, Mississippian and Pennsylvanian, whose mutual boundary does not correspond to the top of the Dinantian. The term ‘Dinantian’ thus disappeared from use, after 111 years of existence as international stratigraphical unit. Its use remains however valid as regional sudivision.