Moscovian Stage

according to the classification accepted in the USSR, the upper stage of the middle division of the Carboniferous system. It was established by the Russian geologist S. N. Nikitin in 1890. A characteristic deposit of the Moscovian stage is represented by calcareous series with foraminifers, the brachiopod Choristites mosquensis, and corals. In a number of regions of the USSR (Donets Coal Basin, Karaganda Coal Basin) the stage is composed of coal-bearing series with plant remains. The Moscovian stage can be traced in the European and Asian parts of the USSR, in Eastern and Western Europe (Spain, Italy), in North Africa, in Japan, in Indochina, in Alaska, in northern Canada, and in Greenland.