| 释义 |
Pliocene, a. (n.) Geol.|ˈplaɪəsiːn|
Also Pleiocene.
[f. Gr. πλείων, -ον more (see pleio-) + καινός new, recent.]
a. Epithet applied to the newest division of the Tertiary formation, distinguished from Eocene and Miocene as containing a larger proportion of fossil shells of still existing species; called also Upper Tertiary. Also applied to animals, etc., of this period.
b. absol. as n. = Pliocene division or formation.
1831[see Eocene a. 1]. 1833Lyell Princ. Geol. III. v. 53 We derive the term Pliocene from πλειων, major, and καινος, recens, as the major part of the fossil testacea of this epoch are referrible to recent species. 1866Brande & Cox Dict. Sc., etc. II. 935/2 The pliocene rocks of England..include the red crag and coralline crag of the eastern counties. 1900Athenæum 21 July 93/1 Years afterwards French anthropologists also found Pliocene man. |