The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the
Miocene Epoch made up of two
stages
Stage or stages may refer to:
Acting
* Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions
* Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage"
* ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper
* S ...
: the
Langhian and
Serravallian stages. The Middle Miocene is preceded by the
Early Miocene.
The sub-epoch lasted from 15.97 ± 0.05
Ma to 11.608 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago). During this period, a sharp drop in global temperatures took place. This event is known as the
Middle Miocene Climate Transition
The term Middle Miocene disruption, alternatively the Middle Miocene extinction or Middle Miocene extinction peak, refers to a wave of extinctions of terrestrial and aquatic life forms that occurred around the middle of the Miocene, roughly 14 mill ...
.
For the purpose of establishing
European Land Mammal Ages this sub-epoch is equivalent to the
Astaracian age.
External links
GeoWhen Database - Middle Miocene
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