Miocene
/ˈmʌɪə(ʊ)siːn
/adjective Geology
1Relating to or denoting the fourth epoch of the Tertiary period, between the Oligocene and Pliocene epochs.In Japan, decapods associated with coral reef deposits were described in Miocene and Pliocene and Pleistocene rocks....
- This was a Paleogene collisional orogen, which underwent rapid and substantial extension in late Oligocene to early Miocene time, resulting in the subsidence of much of the region below sea level.
- Apatite fission-track analyses indicate latest Oligocene to earliest Miocene ages, and are likely to reflect the same exhumational event that controls the cooling ages of the metamorphic rocks below.
1.1 (as noun the Miocene) The Miocene epoch or the system of rocks deposited during it.
The Miocene epoch lasted from 23.3 to 5.2 million years ago. During this time the Alps and Himalayas were being formed and there was diversification of the primates, including the first apes.
Origin
Mid 19th century: formed irregularly from Greek meiōn 'less' + kainos 'new'.