An extensive regional stratigraphic hiatus has been proposed in the Asturian to Stephanian foreland basin successions lying to the north of the main Variscan deformation belt, stretching from north west Europe to eastern North America. The hiatus is inferred on megafloral grounds and involves the absence of most if not all of Stephanian Substages B and C. If present it would have great significance for the understanding of regional basin dynamics in the later stages of the Variscan orogeny. However, its existence has been strongly contested. One of the keys to this hypothesis is the correct identification and interpretation of plant fossils from the Warwickshire Coalfield (Central England). The published identifications are here shown to be incorrect, and revised determinations taken in conjunction with other stratigraphic data from Central England suggest that a regional hiatus is not present in the early-mid Stephanian, and that any stratigraphic hiatuses at other horizons in the succession are of purely local extent. A review of known occurrences of the Asturian and Stephanian successions in basins stretching from eastern Canada to Germany suggests that, while facies developments may be similar, there is little uniformity in stratigraphic style and little evidence for a major Stephanian hiatus.

在主要的Variscan变形带以北的阿斯图里亚斯至斯蒂芬尼亚前陆盆地演替中，已经提出了一个广泛的区域地层裂隙，从西北欧一直延伸到北美东部。裂隙是基于大片的地层推断的，并且涉及绝大部分（如果不是全部的话）Stephanian子阶段B和C的缺失。如果存在的话，这对于理解瓦里斯卡造山运动后期的区域盆地动力学将具有重要意义。但是，它的存在受到了强烈的质疑。该假设的关键之一是对沃里克郡煤田（英格兰中部）植物化石的正确识别和解释。此处显示的已发布标识不正确，以及与英格兰中部其他地层数据一起进行的修改后的确定结果表明，史蒂芬尼中期中段不存在区域性的裂隙，并且在该演替的其他层段中的任何地层裂隙也完全是局部性的。对从加拿大东部到德国延伸的盆地中已知的阿斯图里亚斯和斯蒂芬尼亚演替事件的回顾表明，尽管相的发展可能相似，但地层样式几乎没有统一性，也没有证据表明斯蒂芬尼亚大裂隙。