Revised lithostratigraphic scale of the Devonian of Belgium: An introduction and an homage to Pierre Bultynck

The Devonian is the fourth period of the Paleozoic Era, occurring between the Silurian and Carboniferous periods. It extends from c. 419.0 Ma to c. 359.3 Ma (Becker et al., 2020) and is divided into three epochs (Early, Middle and Late), themselves divided into seven ages (Fig. 1). The Devonian Period is a key interval in the history of Earth and Life. It witnessed the advent of the first continental ecosystems on land and the formation of the largest shallow-water reef complexes of the Paleozoic in the seas. These developments were accompanied by significant changes in the biosphere. Figure 1. Devonian time scale with the approximative position of the disused Gedinnian, Siegenian and Couvinian stages and the regional Strunian substage; the main biotic crises and events recognised within the Middle and Upper Devonian are indicated (from Becker et al., 2020). Numerical ages are from Melchin et al. (2020), Becker et al. (2020) and Aretz et al. (2020) for the Silurian, Devonian and Carboniferous periods, respectively. Abbreviation: CARB, Carboniferous; SIL, Silurian; reg., regional. Since the pioneer works of Dumont (1848), Gosselet (1860, 1888) and Dewalque (1868), the Devonian lithostratigraphic scale was built up gradually through dating and correlations. The first large-scale geological mapping campaigns of the Belgian territory, dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s produced a stratigraphic framework characterised by its precision and the continuous updating of th