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A group of ankarapithecus apes during the Miocene epoch

Miocene epoch

The apes arose and diversified during the Miocene epoch, becoming widespread in the Old World. In fact, by the end of this epoch, the ancestors of humans had split away from the ancestors of the chimpanzees to follow their own evolutionary path. As in the Oligocene before it, grasslands continued to expand and forests to dwindle in extent. In the Miocene seas, kelp forests made their first appearance and soon became one of Earth's most productive ecosystems.

Began: 23.8 million years ago

Ended: 5.3 million years ago

What the Earth was like

A map of the Earth in the Archean Era

Reconstruction of the Earth in the Archean era, 3.8 billion - 2.5 billion years ago. Credit: Dr Ron Blakey, NAU Geology.

Causes of extinctions

During this period the following extinction level events are thought to have occurred.

Flood basalt eruptions Flood basalt eruptions
Flood basalt eruptions are a type of large-scale volcanic activity, both in terms of extent and duration, that can occur on land or on the ocean floor. A flood basalt may continue to erupt for tens of thousands - possibly millions - of years and the lava can cover hundreds of thousands of kilometres.
Climate change Climate change
Earth's climate is not constant. Over geological time, the Earth's dominant climate has gone from ice age to tropical heat and from steamy jungles to searing deserts.
Impact events Impact events
Impact events, proposed as causes of mass extinction, are when the planet is struck by a comet or meteor large enough to create a huge shockwave felt around the globe. Widespread dust and debris rain down, disrupting the climate and causing extinction on a global, rather than local, scale.

Types of fossils formed in this period

About

The Miocene (symbol MI) is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about 23.03 to 5.332 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. The Miocene is the first epoch of the Neogene Period.

The earth went from the Oligocene Epoch through the Miocene and into the Pliocene as it cooled into a series of Ice Ages. The Miocene boundaries are not marked by a single distinct global event but consist rather of regional boundaries between the warmer Oligocene and the cooler Pliocene.

The plants and animals of the Miocene were fairly modern. Mammals and birds were well-established. Whales, seals, and kelp spread. The Miocene Epoch is of particular interest to geologists and palaeoclimatologists as major phases of Himalayan Uplift had occurred during the Miocene Epoch affecting monsoonal patterns in the Asia, which were interlinked with Northern Hemisphere glaciation.

Read more at Wikipedia

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Geological time

  1. Origin of the Earth 4.6 billion years ago
  2. Archean era
  3. Cryogenian period
  4. Ediacaran period
  5. Cambrian period
  6. Ordovician period
  7. Silurian period
  8. Devonian period
  9. Carboniferous period
  10. Permian period
  11. Triassic period
  12. Jurassic period
  13. Cretaceous period
  14. Palaeocene epoch
  15. Eocene epoch
  16. Oligocene epoch
  17. Miocene epoch
  18. Pliocene epoch
  19. Pleistocene epoch
  20. Holocene epoch
  21. Present day

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