Miocene
noting or pertaining to an epoch of the Tertiary Period, occurring from 25 to 10 million years ago, when grazing mammals became widespread.
the Miocene Epoch or Series.
Origin of Miocene
1Other words from Miocene
- post-Mi·o·cene, adjective
Words Nearby Miocene
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use Miocene in a sentence
The ursids roamed the forested and swampy areas of Europe nearly 6 million years ago in the Miocene epoch.
Since the flat was discovered, paleontologists have catalogued more than 2,000 fossils from the Miocene, an epoch that stretches from 23 to 5 million years ago.
Feast your eyes on exquisite fossils from an ancient rainforest (and more) | Shi En Kim | January 14, 2022 | Popular-ScienceThe new tardigrade fossil, Paradoryphoribius chronocaribbeus, dates back to the Miocene, about 16 million years ago.
Scientists discovered an extremely rare tardigrade fossil trapped in Dominican amber | Hannah Seo | October 6, 2021 | Popular-ScienceIt may have been as far back as the early Pliocene or the late Miocene Period, or even earlier.
Man And His Ancestor | Charles MorrisSeemingly chipped stones have been found that belong to the remote Miocene geological age.
Man And His Ancestor | Charles Morris
The present physical geography of considerable parts of Britain must date from Miocene times.
The Principles of Stratigraphical Geology | J. E. MarrDisturbances culminating in Miocene times once more produced terrestrial conditions.
The Principles of Stratigraphical Geology | J. E. MarrThis accounts for the fact that it contains remains of Miocene animals, such as teeth of the Hipparion, or ancestor of the horse.
British Dictionary definitions for Miocene
/ (ˈmaɪəˌsiːn) /
of, denoting, or formed in the fourth epoch of the Tertiary period, between the Oligocene and Pliocene epochs, which lasted for 19 million years
the Miocene this epoch or rock series
Origin of Miocene
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for Miocene
[ mī′ə-sēn′ ]
The fourth epoch of the Tertiary Period, from about 24 to 5 million years ago. During this time the climate was warmer than it had been in the Oligocene, and kelp forests and grasslands first developed. With the isolation of Antarctica, a circumpolar ocean current was established in the southern Hemisphere, reducing the amount of mixing of cold polar water and warm equatorial water and causing a buildup of ice sheets in Antarctica. The African-Arabian plate became connected to Asia, closing the seaway which had previously separated Africa from Asia. Mammalian diversity was at its peak. See Chart at geologic time.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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