The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern

marine invertebrate Marine invertebrates are the invertebrates that live in marine habitats. Invertebrate is a blanket term that includes all animals apart from the vertebrate members of the chordate phylum. Invertebrates lack a vertebral column, and some hav ...

s than the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Oligocene and is followed by the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

s. The Miocene boundaries are not marked by a single distinct global event but consist rather of regionally defined boundaries between the warmer Oligocene and the cooler Pliocene Epoch. During the Early Miocene, the Arabian Peninsula collided with Eurasia, severing the connection between the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, and allowing a faunal interchange to occur between Eurasia and Africa, including the dispersal of proboscideans into Eurasia. During the late Miocene, the connections between the Atlantic and Mediterranean closed, causing the Mediterranean Sea to nearly completely evaporate, in an event called the

Messinian salinity crisis The Messinian salinity crisis (MSC), also referred to as the Messinian event, and in its latest stage as the Lago Mare event, was a geological event during which the Mediterranean Sea went into a cycle of partial or nearly complete desiccation (d ...

. The Strait of Gibraltar opened and the Mediterranean refilled at the Miocene–Pliocene boundary, in an event called the Zanclean flood. The

ape Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a clade of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and as well as Europe in prehistory), which together with its sister g ...

s first evolved, arose, and diversified during the

early Miocene The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages: the Aquitanian age, Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages. The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 annum, Ma to ...

(Aquitanian and Burdigalian Stages), becoming widespread in the Old World. By the end of this epoch and the start of the following one, the ancestors of humans had split away from the ancestors of the chimpanzees to follow their own evolutionary path during the final Messinian Stage (7.5–5.3 Ma) of the Miocene. As in the Oligocene before it,

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

s continued to expand and forests to dwindle in extent. In the seas of the Miocene,

kelp forest Kelp forests are underwater areas with a high density of kelp, which covers a large part of the world's coastlines. Smaller areas of anchored kelp are called kelp beds. They are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on Ea ...

s made their first appearance and soon became one of Earth's most productive ecosystems. The plants and animals of the Miocene were recognizably modern. Mammals and birds were well-established.

Whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

pinniped Pinnipeds (pronounced ), commonly known as seals, are a widely range (biology), distributed and diverse clade of carnivorous, fin-footed, semiaquatic, mostly marine mammal, marine mammals. They comprise the extant taxon, extant family (biology ...

s, and

kelp Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms. Kelp grows in "underwa ...

spread. The Miocene is of particular interest to geologists and palaeoclimatologists as major phases of the

geology of the Himalaya The geology of the Himalayas is a record of the most dramatic and visible creations of the immense mountain range formed by plate tectonic forces and sculpted by weathering and erosion. The Himalayas, which stretch over 2400 km between t ...

occurred during the Miocene, affecting

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...

al patterns in Asia, which were interlinked with

glacial period A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betwe ...

s in the northern hemisphere.

Subdivisions

The Miocene

faunal stage In chronostratigraphy, a stage is a succession of rock strata laid down in a single age on the geologic timescale, which usually represents millions of years of deposition. A given stage of rock and the corresponding age of time will by convent ...

s from youngest to oldest are typically named according to the

International Commission on Stratigraphy The International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), sometimes referred to unofficially as the "International Stratigraphic Commission", is a daughter or major subcommittee grade scientific daughter organization that concerns itself with stratigr ...

: Regionally, other systems are used, based on characteristic land mammals; some of them overlap with the preceding Oligocene and following Pliocene Epochs: European Land Mammal Ages *

Turolian The Turolian age is a period of geologic time (9.0–5.3 Ma) within the Miocene used more specifically with European Land Mammal Ages. It precedes the Ruscinian age and follows the Vallesian age. The Turolian overlaps the Tortonian The Tort ...

(9.0 to 5.3 Ma) *

Vallesian The Vallesian age is a period of geologic time (11.6–9.0 Ma) within the Miocene used more specifically with European Land Mammal Ages. It precedes the Turolian age and follows the Astaracian age. The so-called Vallesian Crisis resulted in the ...

(11.6 to 9.0 Ma) *

Astaracian The Astaracian age is a period of geologic time (), equivalent with the Middle Miocene and used more specifically with European Land Mammal Ages. It precedes the Vallesian age and follows the Orleanian age. The Astaracian overlaps the Langhian and ...

(16.0 to 11.6 Ma) *

Orleanian The Orleanian age is a period of geologic time ( MN 3–5, (mya)), within the Miocene and used more specifically with European Land Mammal Ages. It precedes the Astaracian age and follows the Agenian age. ; Agenian-Early Orleanian migration At ...

(20.0 to 16.0 Ma) *

Agenian The Agenian age is a period of geologic time (23.8–20 Ma) within the Miocene used more specifically with European Land Mammal Ages. It follows the Orleanian age and overlaps the Aquitanian and Burdigalian The Burdigalian is, in the geologic ...

(23.8 to 20.0 Ma) North American Land Mammal Ages *

Hemphillian The Hemphillian North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 10,300,000 to 4,900,000 years BP. It is usually considered t ...

(10.3 to 4.9 Ma) *

Clarendonian The Clarendonian North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 13,600,000 to 10,300,000 years BP, a period of . It is ...

(13.6 to 10.3 Ma) *

Barstovian The Barstovian North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 16,300,000 to 13,600,000 years BP, a period of . It is usu ...

(16.3 to 13.6 Ma) *

Hemingfordian The Hemingfordian on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 20,600,000 to 16,300,000 years BP. It is usually considered to overlap the lates ...

(20.6 to 16.3 Ma) *

Arikareean The Arikareean North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 30,600,000 to 20,800,000 years BP, a period of . It is usuall ...

(30.6 to 20.6 Ma) South American Land Mammal Ages *

Montehermosan The Montehermosan age is a period of geologic time (6.8–4.0 Ma) within the Miocene and Pliocene epochs of the Neogene used more specifically with South American Land Mammal Ages. It follows the Huayquerian and precedes the Chapadmalalan The C ...

(6.8 to 4.0 Ma) *

Huayquerian The Huayquerian ( es, Huayqueriense) age is a period of geologic time (9.0–6.8 Ma) within the Late Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification. It follows the Mayoan The Mayoan ( es, Mayoense) age is ...

(9.0 to 6.8 Ma) *

Mayoan The Mayoan ( es, Mayoense) age is a period of geologic time from 11.8 to 10 Ma, within the Middle to Late Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification in South America. It follows the Laventan and precedes ...

(11.8 to 9.0 Ma) *

Laventan The Laventan ( es, Laventense) age is a period of geologic time (13.8 to 11.8 Ma) within the Middle Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification in South America. It follows the Colloncuran and precedes th ...

(13.8 to 11.8 Ma) * Colloncuran (15.5 to 13.8 Ma) *

Friasian The Friasian age is a period of geologic time (16.3–15.5 Ma) within the Early Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification of South America. It follows the Santacrucian and precedes the Colloncuran age. ...

(16.3 to 15.5 Ma) * Santacrucian (17.5 to 16.3 Ma) *

Colhuehuapian The Colhuehuapian age is a period of geologic time (21.0–17.5 Ma) within the Early Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification in South America. It follows the Deseadan and precedes the Santacrucian a ...

(21.0 to 17.5 Ma)

Paleogeography

Continents continued to

drift Drift or Drifts may refer to: Geography * Drift or ford (crossing) of a river * Drift, Kentucky, unincorporated community in the United States * In Cornwall, England: ** Drift, Cornwall, village ** Drift Reservoir, associated with the village ...

toward their present positions. Of the modern geologic features, only the land bridge between

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

and North America was absent, although South America was approaching the western subduction zone in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

, causing both the rise of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

and a southward extension of the Meso-American peninsula. Mountain building took place in western North America,

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, and

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

. Both continental and marine Miocene deposits are common worldwide with marine outcrops common near modern shorelines. Well studied continental exposures occur in the North American Great Plains and in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. The global trend was towards increasing aridity caused primarily by global cooling reducing the ability of the atmosphere to absorb moisture, particularly after 7 to 8 million years ago. Uplift of East Africa in the late Miocene was partly responsible for the shrinking of

tropical rain forest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equatori ...

s in that region, and Australia got drier as it entered a zone of low rainfall in the Late Miocene.

Eurasia

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

continued to collide with

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, creating dramatic new

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

s as well as uplifting the Tibetan Plateau, which resulted in the aridification of the Asian interior. At the beginning of the Miocene, the northern margin of the Arabian plate, then part of the African landmass, collided with Eurasia; as a result, the Tethys seaway continued to shrink and then disappeared as

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

collided with

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...

in the Turkish– Arabian region between 19 and 12 Ma. This severed the connection between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and formed the present land connection between Afro-Arabia and Eurasia. The subsequent uplift of mountains in the western

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

region and a global fall in sea levels combined to cause a temporary drying up of the Mediterranean Sea (known as the

) near the end of the Miocene.

South America

During the Oligocene and Early Miocene, the coast of northern Brazil, Colombia, south-central Peru, central Chile and large swathes of inland

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

were subject to a

marine transgression A marine transgression is a geologic event during which sea level rises relative to the land and the shoreline moves toward higher ground, which results in flooding. Transgressions can be caused by the land sinking or by the ocean basins filling ...

. The transgressions in the west coast of South America are thought to be caused by a regional phenomenon while the steadily rising central segment of the Andes represents an exception. While there are numerous registers of Oligo-Miocene transgressions around the world it is doubtful that these correlate. It is thought that the Oligo-Miocene transgression in

could have temporarily linked the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, as inferred from the findings of marine invertebrate fossils of both Atlantic and Pacific affinity in La Cascada Formation. Connection would have occurred through narrow epicontinental seaways that formed channels in a dissected topography. The

Antarctic Plate The Antarctic Plate is a tectonic plate containing the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau, and some remote islands in the Southern Ocean and other surrounding oceans. After breakup from Gondwana (the southern part of the superconti ...

started to

subduct Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at convergent boundaries. Where the oceanic lithosphere of a tectonic plate converges with the less dense lithosphere of a second plate, the ...

beneath South America 14 million years ago in the Miocene, forming the Chile Triple Junction. At first the Antarctic Plate subducted only in the southernmost tip of Patagonia, meaning that the Chile Triple Junction lay near the Strait of Magellan. As the southern part of Nazca Plate and the Chile Rise became consumed by subduction the more northerly regions of the Antarctic Plate begun to subduct beneath Patagonia so that the Chile Triple Junction advanced to the north over time. The asthenospheric window associated to the triple junction disturbed previous patterns of

mantle convection Mantle convection is the very slow creeping motion of Earth's solid silicate mantle as convection currents carrying heat from the interior to the planet's surface. The Earth's surface lithosphere rides atop the asthenosphere and the two for ...

beneath Patagonia inducing an uplift of ca. 1 km that reversed the Oligocene–Miocene transgression. As the southern Andes rose in the Middle Miocene (14–12 million years ago) the resulting rain shadow originated the

Patagonian Desert The Patagonian Desert, also known as the Patagonian Steppe, is the largest desert in Argentina and is the 8th largest desert in the world by area, occupying 673,000 square kilometers (260,000 mi2). It is located primarily in Argentina and ...

to the east.

Climate

Climates remained moderately warm, although the slow global cooling that eventually led to the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate be ...

s continued. Although a long-term cooling trend was well underway, there is evidence of a warm period during the Miocene when the global climate rivalled that of the Oligocene. The Miocene warming began 21 million years ago and continued until 14 million years ago, when global temperatures took a sharp drop—the Middle Miocene Climate Transition (MMCT). By 7 to 8 million years ago, temperatures dropped sharply once again, most likely as a result of a decline in atmospheric carbon dioxide and a drop in the amplitude of Earth's obliquity, and the Antarctic ice sheet was already approaching its present-day size and thickness.

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...

may have begun to have large glaciers as early as 7 to 8 million years ago, although the climate for the most part remained warm enough to support forests there well into the Pliocene. At the terminus of the Miocene, global temperatures rose once again as the amplitude of Earth's obliquity increased.

Life

Life during the Miocene Epoch was mostly supported by the two newly formed

biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

s and grasslands. Grasslands allow for more grazers, such as

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...

es, and

hippo The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant ...

s. Ninety-five percent of modern plants existed by the end of this epoch. Modern bony fish genera were established.

Flora

The coevolution of

gritty Gritty is the official mascot for the Philadelphia Flyers National Hockey League (NHL) team. He is a furry orange creature with googly eyes who wears Flyers gear. Gritty has been compared to the Phillie Phanatic, the mascot for the Philadelphi ...

, fibrous, fire-tolerant

grasses Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns ...

and long-legged

gregarious Sociality is the degree to which individuals in an animal population tend to associate in social groups (gregariousness) and form cooperative societies. Sociality is a survival response to evolutionary pressures. For example, when a mother wasp ...

ungulate Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Ungulata which primarily consists of large mammals with hooves. These include odd-toed ungulates such as horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs; and even-toed ungulates such as cattle, pigs, giraffes, ...

s with high-crowned teeth, led to a major expansion of grass-grazer

ecosystems An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...

, with roaming herds of large,

swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

grazers pursued by

predators Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

across broad sweeps of open

s, displacing desert, woodland, and browsers. The higher organic content and water retention of the deeper and richer grassland soils, with long-term burial of carbon in sediments, produced a carbon and water vapor sink. This, combined with higher surface

albedo Albedo (; ) is the measure of the diffuse reflection of solar radiation out of the total solar radiation and measured on a scale from 0, corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation, to 1, corresponding to a body that refl ...

and lower

evapotranspiration Evapotranspiration (ET) is the combined processes by which water moves from the earth’s surface into the atmosphere. It covers both water evaporation (movement of water to the air directly from soil, canopies, and water bodies) and transpi ...

of grassland, contributed to a cooler, drier climate. C₄ grasses, which are able to assimilate

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is trans ...

and water more efficiently than C₃ grasses, expanded to become ecologically significant near the end of the Miocene between 6 and 7 million years ago. The expansion of grasslands and radiations among terrestrial herbivores correlates to fluctuations in CO₂.

Cycad Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk with a crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants of a species are either male o ...

s between 11.5 and 5 million years ago began to rediversify after previous declines in variety due to climatic changes, and thus modern cycads are not a good model for a "living fossil".

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as e ...

fossil leaves occur in the Miocene of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, where the genus is not native today, but have been introduced from Australia.

Fauna

Both marine and continental

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

were fairly modern, although marine mammals were less numerous. Only in isolated South America and Australia did widely divergent fauna exist. In the Early Miocene, several Oligocene groups were still diverse, including

nimravids Nimravidae is an extinct family of carnivorans, sometimes known as false saber-toothed cats, whose fossils are found in North America and Eurasia. Not considered to belong to the true cats (family Felidae), the nimravids are generally considered ...

entelodont Entelodontidae, the entelodonts, are an extinct family of pig-like artiodactyls (even-toed ungulates) which inhabited the Northern Hemisphere (Asia, Europe, and North America) from the late Eocene to the Middle Miocene epochs, about 38-19 millio ...

s, and three-toed equids. Like in the previous Oligocene Epoch, oreodonts were still diverse, only to disappear in the earliest Pliocene. During the later Miocene mammals were more modern, with easily recognizable

canids Canidae (; from Latin, ''canis'', " dog") is a biological family of dog-like carnivorans, colloquially referred to as dogs, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (). There are three subfamilies found within ...

, bears,

red pandas The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzz ...

procyonids Procyonidae is a New World family of the order Carnivora. It comprises the raccoons, ringtails, cacomistles, coatis, kinkajous, olingos, and olinguitos. Procyonids inhabit a wide range of environments and are generally omnivorous. Characte ...

equids Equidae (sometimes known as the horse family) is the taxonomic family of horses and related animals, including the extant horses, asses, and zebras, and many other species known only from fossils. All extant species are in the genus '' Equus'', ...

, beavers,

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

camelid Camelids are members of the biological family Camelidae, the only currently living family in the suborder Tylopoda. The seven extant members of this group are: dromedary camels, Bactrian camels, wild Bactrian camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, ...

s, and

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

s, along with now extinct groups like borophagine canids, certain gomphotheres, three-toed horses, and hornless rhinos like ''

Teleoceras ''Teleoceras'' (Greek: "perfect" (teleos), "horn" (keratos)) is an extinct genus of grazing rhinoceros. It lived in North America during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs during the Hemingfordian to the end of Hemphillian from around 17.5 to 4. ...

'' and ''

Aphelops ''Aphelops'' (Greek: "smooth" (apheles), "face" (ops), in a reference of lacking a horn) is an extinct genus of hornless rhinoceros endemic to North America. It lived from the Middle Miocene to the early Pliocene, during which it was a common com ...

''. Islands began to form between South and North America in the Late Miocene, allowing ground sloths like '' Thinobadistes'' to island-hop to North America. The expansion of silica-rich C₄ grasses led to worldwide extinctions of herbivorous species without high-crowned teeth.

Mustelids The Mustelidae (; from Latin ''mustela'', weasel) are a family of carnivorous mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks and wolverines, among others. Mustelids () are a diverse group and form the largest famil ...

diversified into their largest forms as terrestrial predators like ''

Ekorus ''Ekorus ekakeran'' is a large, extinct mustelid mammal. Fossils, including largely complete skeletons, are known from the late Miocene of Kenya. Description ''Ekorus'' reached almost , comparably to a wolf and much bigger than the modern hone ...

'', ''

Eomellivora ''Eomellivora'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric mustelids, closely related to the honey badger, known from Eurasia and North America, and tentatively Africa. It was one of the biggest mustelids ever known, bigger and more hypercarnivorous tha ...

'', and ''

Megalictis ''Megalictis'' is an extinct genus of large predatory mustelids that existed in North America during the "cat gap" from the Late Arikareean (Ar4) in the Miocene epoch. It is thought to have resembled a huge ferret, with a body mass of up to . ...

'' and bunodont otters like ''

Enhydriodon ''Enhydriodon'' is an extinct genus of typically large otters that lived in what is now Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Chad, South Africa, Pakistan, and India from the late Miocene up to early Pleistocene. The otter is thought to be a relative of moder ...

'' and ''Sivaonyx'' appeared. Unequivocally recognizable dabbling ducks,

plover Plovers ( , ) are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. Description There are about 66 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subf ...

typical owl The true owls or typical owls (family Strigidae) are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls (Tytonidae). This large family comprises 230 living or recently extinct species in 24 genera. The typical owl ...

cockatoo A cockatoo is any of the 21 parrot species belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea (true parrots) and the Strigopoidea (large New Zealand parrots), they make up the orde ...

s and

crow A crow is a bird of the genus '' Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifica ...

s appear during the Miocene. By the epoch's end, all or almost all modern bird groups are believed to have been present; the few post-Miocene bird fossils which cannot be placed in the evolutionary tree with full confidence are simply too badly preserved, rather than too equivocal in character. Marine birds reached their highest diversity ever in the course of this epoch. The youngest representatives of Choristodera, an extinct order of aquatic reptiles that first appeared in the Middle Jurassic, are known from the Miocene of Europe, belonging to the genus ''

Lazarussuchus ''Lazarussuchus'' (meaning " Lazarus's crocodile") is an extinct genus of amphibious reptile, known from the Cenozoic of Europe. It is the youngest known member of Choristodera, an extinct order of aquatic reptiles that first appeared in the Midd ...

,'' which had been the only known surviving genus of the group since the beginning of the Eocene. The last known representatives of the archaic primitive mammal order Meridiolestida, which dominated South America during the Late Cretaceous, are known from the Miocene of Patagonia, represented by the mole-like ''

Necrolestes ''Necrolestes'' ("grave robber" or "thief of the dead") is an extinct genus of mammals, which lived during the Early Miocene in what is now Argentine Patagonia. It is the most recent known genus of Meridiolestida, an extinct group of mammals m ...

.'' The youngest known representatives of metatherians (marsupial relatives) in the Northern Hemisphere landmasses (Asia, North America and Europe) and Africa are known from the Miocene, including the North American herpetotheriid ''

Herpetotherium ''Herpetotherium'' is an extinct genus of metatherian mammal, belonging to the possibly paraphyletic family Herpetotheriidae. Native to North America from the Eocene to Early Miocene, fossils have been found in California, Oregon, Texas, Florida ...

'', the European herpetotheriid '' Amphiperatherium,'' the peradectids '' Siamoperadectes'' and '' Sinoperadectes'' from Asia, and the possible herpetotheriid '' Morotodon'' from the late Early Miocene of Uganda. Approximately 100 species of

s lived during this time, ranging throughout Africa, Asia and Europe and varying widely in size, diet, and anatomy. Due to scanty fossil evidence it is unclear which ape or apes contributed to the modern hominid clade, but molecular evidence indicates this ape lived between 18 and 13 million years ago. The first

hominins The Hominini form a taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae ("hominines"). Hominini includes the extant genera ''Homo'' (humans) and '' Pan'' (chimpanzees and bonobos) and in standard usage excludes the genus ''Gorilla'' (gorillas). The t ...

(

bipedal Bipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning 'two feet' (from Latin ''bis'' 'double' ...

apes of the human lineage) appeared in Africa at the very end of the Miocene, including ''

Sahelanthropus ''Sahelanthropus tchadensis'' is an extinct species of the Homininae (African apes) dated to about , during the Miocene epoch. The species, and its genus ''Sahelanthropus'', was announced in 2002, based mainly on a partial cranium, nicknamed '' ...

'', ''

Orrorin ''Orrorin tugenensis'' is a postulated early species of Homininae, estimated at and discovered in 2000. It is not confirmed how ''Orrorin'' is related to modern humans. Its discovery was used to argue against the hypothesis that australopithecin ...

'', and an early form of ''

Ardipithecus ''Ardipithecus'' is a genus of an extinct hominine that lived during the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene epochs in the Afar Depression, Ethiopia. Originally described as one of the earliest ancestors of humans after they diverged from the chimp ...

'' ('' A. kadabba'') The chimpanzee–human divergence is thought to have occurred at this time. The expansion of grasslands in North America also led to an explosive radiation among snakes. Previously, snakes were a minor component of the North American fauna, but during the Miocene, the number of species and their prevalence increased dramatically with the first appearances of

vipers The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs th ...

and

elapids Elapidae (, commonly known as elapids ; grc, ἔλλοψ ''éllops'' "sea-fish") is a family of snakes characterized by their permanently erect fangs at the front of the mouth. Most elapids are venomous, with the exception of the genus Emydocep ...

in North America and the significant diversification of Colubridae (including the origin of many modern genera such as ''

Nerodia ''Nerodia'' is a genus of nonvenomous colubrid snakes commonly referred to as water snakes due to their aquatic behavior. The genus includes nine species, all native to North America. Description ''Nerodia'' species vary greatly, but all are ...

'', '' Lampropeltis'', '' Pituophis'' and ''

Pantherophis ''Pantherophis'' is a genus of nonvenomous colubrid snakes endemic to central and eastern regions of North America. It consists of the North American ratsnakes, the foxsnakes, and the cornsnakes. The genus, which contains 10 recognized spec ...

'').

The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis - Miocene crab

In the oceans,

brown algae Brown algae (singular: alga), comprising the class Phaeophyceae, are a large group of multicellular algae, including many seaweeds located in colder waters within the Northern Hemisphere. Brown algae are the major seaweeds of the temperate and p ...

, called

, proliferated, supporting new species of sea life, including otters,

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

and various

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s. Cetaceans attained their greatest diversity during the Miocene, with over 20 recognized genera of baleen whales in comparison to only six living genera. This diversification correlates with emergence of gigantic macro-predators such as megatoothed sharks and raptorial sperm whales. Prominent examples are '' O. megalodon'' and '' L. melvillei''. Other notable large sharks were '' O. chubutensis'', ''Isurus hastalis'', and ''

Hemipristis serra ''Hemipristis serra'' is an extinct species of weasel shark which existed during the Miocene epoch. It was described by Louis Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born ...

''. Crocodilians also showed signs of diversification during Miocene. The largest form among them was a gigantic

caiman A caiman (also cayman as a variant spelling) is an alligatorid belonging to the subfamily Caimaninae, one of two primary lineages within the Alligatoridae family, the other being alligators. Caimans inhabit Mexico, Central and South America f ...

Purussaurus ''Purussaurus'' is an extinct genus of giant caiman that lived in South America during the Miocene epoch, from the Friasian to the Huayquerian in the SALMA classification. It is known from skull material found in the Brazilian and Peruvian Amazo ...

'' which inhabited South America. Another gigantic form was a false gharial ''

Rhamphosuchus ''Rhamphosuchus'' ("Beak crocodile") is an extinct genus of gavialid crocodylians. It lived during the Pliocene and its fossils have been found in two regions; the Siwalik Hills of Pakistan and India as well as the Sindh region of Pakistan. Its ...

'', which inhabited modern age

. A strange form, ''

Mourasuchus ''Mourasuchus'' is an extinct genus of giant, aberrant caiman from the Miocene of South America. Its skull has been described as duck-like, being broad, flat, and very elongate, superficially resembling '' Stomatosuchus'' from the Late Cretaceo ...

'' also thrived alongside ''Purussaurus''. This species developed a specialized filter-feeding mechanism, and it likely preyed upon small fauna despite its gigantic size. The youngest members of

Sebecidae Sebecidae is an extinct family of prehistoric terrestrial sebecosuchian crocodylomorphs. The oldest known member of the group is '' Ogresuchus furatus'' known from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Tremp Formation (Spain). Sebecids were diver ...

, a clade of terrestrial crocodylfomes distantly related to modern crocodilians, are known from the Miocene of South America. The last Desmostylians thrived during this period before becoming the only extinct marine mammal order. The

s, which appeared near the end of the Oligocene, became more aquatic. A prominent genus was '' Allodesmus''. A ferocious

walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the fami ...

, '' Pelagiarctos'' may have preyed upon other species of pinnipeds including ''Allodesmus''. Furthermore,

n waters witnessed the arrival of '' Megapiranha paranensis'', which were considerably larger than modern age

piranha A piranha or piraña (, , or ; or , ) is one of a number of freshwater fish in the family Serrasalmidae, or the subfamily Serrasalminae within the tetra family, Characidae in order Characiformes. These fish inhabit South American rivers, fl ...

's Miocene fossil record is particularly rich. Marine deposits showcase a variety of cetaceans and

penguins Penguins (order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adapt ...

, illustrating the evolution of both groups into modern representatives. The early Miocene

Saint Bathans Fauna The St Bathans fauna is found in the lower Bannockburn Formation of the Manuherikia Group of Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. It comprises a suite of fossilised prehistoric animals from the late Early Miocene (Altonian) period, ...

is the only Cenozoic terrestrial fossil record of the landmass, showcasing a wide variety of not only

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

species, including early representatives of clades such as moas, kiwis and

adzebill The adzebills, genus ''Aptornis'', were two closely related bird species, the North Island adzebill, (''Aptornis otidiformis''), and the South Island adzebill, (''Aptornis defossor''), of the extinct family Aptornithidae. The family was endemic ...

s, but also a diverse herpetofauna of sphenodontians, crocodiles and

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...

as well as a rich terrestrial mammal fauna composed of various species of

bats Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bir ...

and the enigmatic Saint Bathans Mammal.

Oceans

There is evidence from oxygen isotopes at

Deep Sea Drilling Program The Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) was an ocean drilling project operated from 1968 to 1983. The program was a success, as evidenced by the data and publications that have resulted from it. The data are now hosted by Texas A&M University, alth ...

sites that ice began to build up in Antarctica about 36 Ma during the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

. Further marked decreases in temperature during the Middle Miocene at 15 Ma probably reflect increased ice growth in Antarctica. It can therefore be assumed that East Antarctica had some glaciers during the early to mid Miocene (23–15 Ma). Oceans cooled partly due to the formation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, and about 15 million years ago the ice cap in the southern hemisphere started to grow to its present form. The Greenland ice cap developed later, in the Middle Pliocene time, about 3 million years ago.

Middle Miocene disruption

The "Middle Miocene disruption" refers to a wave of

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

s of terrestrial and aquatic life forms that occurred following the Miocene Climatic Optimum (18 to 16 Ma), around 14.8 to 14.5 million years ago, during the

Langhian The Langhian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS geologic timescale, an age (geology), age or stage (stratigraphy), stage in the middle Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch/series (stratigraphy), Series. It spans the time between 15 ...

Stage of the mid-Miocene. A major and permanent cooling step occurred between 14.8 and 14.1 Ma, associated with increased production of cold Antarctic deep waters and a major growth of the East Antarctic ice sheet. A Middle Miocene δ¹⁸O increase, that is, a relative increase in the heavier isotope of oxygen, has been noted in the Pacific, the Southern Ocean and the South Atlantic.

Impact event

A large impact event occurred either during the Miocene (23 Ma – 5.3 Ma) or the Pliocene (5.3 Ma – 2.6 Ma). The event formed the Karakul crater (52 km diameter), in

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

which is estimated to have an age of less than 23 Ma or less than 5 Ma.

References

External links

Miocene Microfossils: 200+ images of Miocene Foraminifera

Human Timeline (Interactive)
– Smithsonian,

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

(August 2016). {{Authority control Geological epochs Neogene geochronology