The Pliocene was the second epoch of the Neogene period (23-2.6 million years ago), the first being the Miocene (23-5 million years ago); all of these periods and epochs were themselves part of the Cenozoic Era (65 million years ago to the present). Climate and geography.
The Miocene Epoch is the fourth epoch in the Tertiary Period (in the alternative, the earliest epoch in the Neogene Period). The Miocene Epoch ranges from approximately 23 million years ago (mya) to 5 mya.
The Pliocene epoch marked the swan song of the phorusrhacids, or “terror birds,” as well as the other large, flightless, predatory birds of South America, which resembled meat-eating dinosaurs that had gone extinct tens of millions of years earlier.
During the Pliocene epoch, the earth continued its cooling trend, with tropical conditions holding at the equator (as they do today) and more pronounced seasonal changes at higher and lower latitudes; still, average global temperatures were 7 or 8 degrees (Fahrenheit) higher than they are today.
By the standards of “deep time,” the Pliocene epoch was relatively recent, commencing only five million years or so before the start of the modern historical record. During the Pliocene, prehistoric life around the globe continued to adapt to the prevailing climatic cooling trend, with some notable local extinctions and disappearances. The Pliocene was the second epoch of the Neogene period (23-2.6 million years ago), the first being the Miocene (23-5 million years ago); all of these periods and epochs were themselves part of the Cenozoic Era (65 million years ago to the present).
As during the preceding Miocene, the seas of the Pliocene epoch were dominated by the biggest shark that ever lived, Megalodon. Whales continued with their evolutionary progress, approximating the forms familiar in modern times, and pinnipeds (seals, walruses and sea otters) flourished in various parts of the globe. (An interesting side note: the pliosaurs of the Mesozoic Era were once thought to date from the Pliocene epoch, hence their misleading name, Greek for “Pliocene lizards.”)
The Miocene Epoch is the fourth epoch in the Tertiary Period ( in the alternative, the earliest epoch in the Neogene Period). The Miocene Epoch ranges from approximately 23 million years ago (mya) to 5 mya. The Miocene Epoch was preceded by the Oligocene Epoch and was followed by the Pliocene Epoch .
Miocene Geological epoch beginning c. 5 million years ago and ending c. 5 million years ago. It falls in the middle of the Tertiary period, and is marked by a global increase in grasslands at the expense of forests and the development of most of the modern mammal groups.
Mi·o·cene / ˈmīəˌsēn / • adj. Geol. of, relating to, or denoting the fourth epoch of the Tertiary period, between the Oligocene and Pliocene epochs. ∎ [as n.] (the Miocene) the Miocene epoch or the system of rocks deposited during it.
This epoch lasted from 23.3 to 5.2 million years ago. During this time the Alps and Himalayas were being formed and there was diversification of the primates, including the first apes.
Miocene Fourth of the five epochs of the Tertiary Period, extending from the end of the Oligocene, 23.3 Ma ago, to the beginning of the Pliocene, 5.2 Ma ago. Many mammals with a more modern appearance evolved during this epoch, including deer, pigs, and several elephant stocks. The Miocene comprises the Aquitanian, Burdigalian, Early and Late Langhian, Serravallian, Tortonian, and Messinian Ages.