Miocene

Miocene

The Miocene is the first geological epoch of the Neogene period and extends from about 23.03 to 5.333 million years ago (Ma). The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words μείων (meiōn, “less”) and καινός (kainos, “new”) and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene Epoch and is followed by the Pliocene Epoch.

Climate

The Miocene was a period of warmer global climates than those in the preceding Oligocene, or the following Pliocene. The northern polar regions were free of ice caps, but were instead covered with forests.

Flora and Fauna

The Miocene saw a significant diversification in the biological life on Earth. Both marine and continental fauna became modern, looking similar to present-day animals and plants. The apex predators of the Miocene were larger than those of today; birds reached a peak in terms of diversity during this epoch.

Geology

The Miocene is of particular interest to geologists and palaeoclimatologists as major geological and climatic events took place that shaped the Earth's future. The formation of the Isthmus of Panama led to the Great American Interchange.

See also

• Geologic time scale
• Paleogene
• Neogene
• Pliocene