Miocene

American  

[mahy-uh-seen] / ˈmaɪ əˌsin /

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to an epoch of the Tertiary Period, occurring from 25 to 10 million years ago, when grazing mammals became widespread.

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noun

1. the Miocene Epoch or Series.

Miocene British  

/ ˈmaɪəˌsiːn /

adjective

1. of, denoting, or formed in the fourth epoch of the Tertiary period, between the Oligocene and Pliocene epochs, which lasted for 19 million years

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noun

1. this epoch or rock series

Miocene Scientific  

/ mī′ə-sēn′ /

1. 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.

2. See Chart at geologic time

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Other Word Forms

• post-Miocene
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Miocene

First recorded in 1825–35; mio- (from Greek meíōn “less”) + -cene

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Miocene

Their results indicate that Masripithecus was more closely related to living apes than any Early Miocene species currently known from East Africa.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026

Before this discovery, Early Miocene fossil sites in North Africa had produced remains of monkeys but no confirmed apes.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026

The analysis supported the conclusion that early anacondas averaged four to five meters when they first emerged during the Miocene.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 3, 2025

Scientists previously assumed that ancient anacondas would have been even larger than modern ones because snakes are highly sensitive to temperature and the Miocene climate was warmer.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 3, 2025

Fossils of these ancients have been found dating from the Cretaceous era while in the Eocene and Miocene they were spread over England and Europe and America.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck