Miocene Epoch

Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Illustration of a sabre-toothed cat, Smilodon, showing a large, muscular feline with tan fur and dark spots, its mouth open to reveal long, curved canine teeth. A scale bar in the corner indicates size.

An illustration of a Toxodon, an extinct genus of large, stocky mammals with a barrel-shaped body, short legs, and a broad head, covered in shaggy brown fur.

$Map of the Pacific Ocean showing the age of selected regions of the seafloor, with color-coded bands representing different geological ages from Cretaceous (136 million years ago) to Pleistocene (0 million years ago). The map highlights mid-ocean ridges, deep ocean trenches, and fracture zones, with arrows indicating the direction of crustal plate spreading. Major trenches such as the Mariana, Peru-Chile, and Aleutian Trenches are labeled.$

A detailed geologic time scale chart displaying Earth's history from the Hadean Eon over 4.5 billion years ago to the present, organized by eons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages with color-coded columns and corresponding dates in millions of years.

A geologic time scale chart details the Neogene period of the Cenozoic era, listing its epochs (Miocene and Pliocene) and stages with corresponding ages in millions of years ago, ranging from 23.03 to 2.58 million years ago.

At a Glance

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Miocene Epoch summary

Miocene Epoch: Media

geochronology

Images

Illustration of a sabre-toothed cat, Smilodon, showing a large, muscular feline with tan fur and dark spots, its mouth open to reveal long, curved canine teeth. A scale bar in the corner indicates size.

sabre-toothed cat

Sabre-toothed cat (Smilodon).

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Patrick O'Neill Riley

Moropus

Moropus

Moropus, an extinct genus of the chalicotheres (ungulates with claws instead...

Courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History, New York

An illustration of a Toxodon, an extinct genus of large, stocky mammals with a barrel-shaped body, short legs, and a broad head, covered in shaggy brown fur.

Toxodon

Toxodon was probably the most common large-hoofed mammal in South America...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

$Map of the Pacific Ocean showing the age of selected regions of the seafloor, with color-coded bands representing different geological ages from Cretaceous (136 million years ago) to Pleistocene (0 million years ago). The map highlights mid-ocean ridges, deep ocean trenches, and fracture zones, with arrows indicating the direction of crustal plate spreading. Major trenches such as the Mariana, Peru-Chile, and Aleutian Trenches are labeled.$

seafloor spreading

Map showing the age of selected regions of the ocean floor. Chronological measurements...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

A detailed geologic time scale chart displaying Earth's history from the Hadean Eon over 4.5 billion years ago to the present, organized by eons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages with color-coded columns and corresponding dates in millions of years.

geologic time

The stratigraphic chart of geologic time.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Source: International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS)

A geologic time scale chart details the Neogene period of the Cenozoic era, listing its epochs (Miocene and Pliocene) and stages with corresponding ages in millions of years ago, ranging from 23.03 to 2.58 million years ago.

Neogene Period in geologic time

The Neogene Period and its subdivisions.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Source: International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS)

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