The Pliocene epoch (spelled Pleiocene in older texts) is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present.

The Pliocene is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene period in the Cenozoic era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene epoch.

The Pliocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. The name comes from the Greek words (pleion, "more") and (kainos, "new") and means roughly "continuation of the recent", referring to the essentially modern marine mollusc faunas.

As with other older geologic periods, the geological strata that define the start and end are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the epoch are slightly uncertain. The boundaries defining the onset of the Pliocene are not set at an easily identified worldwide event but rather at regional boundaries between the warmer Miocene and the relatively cooler Pliocene. The upper boundary was set at the start of the Pleistocene glaciations.

Subdivisions

In the official timescale of the ICS, the Pliocene is subdivided into two stages. From youngest to oldest they are:

• Piacenzian (3.600–2.588 Ma)
• Zanclean (5.332–3.600 Ma)

The Piacenzian is sometimes referred to as the Late Pliocene, whereas the Zanclean is referred to as the Early Pliocene.

In the system of North American Land Mammal Ages the Pliocene overlaps with two stages: the Blancan (4.75–1.806 Ma) and Hemphillian (9–4.75 Ma). In the system of South American Land Mammal Ages, the Pliocene overlaps with the Montehermosan (6.8-4.0 Ma), Chapadmalalan (4.0-3.0 Ma) and Uquian (3.0-1.2 Ma). In the Paratethys area (central Europe and parts of western Asia) the Pliocene contains the Dacian (roughly equal to the Zanclean) and Romanian (roughly equal to the Piacenzian and Gelasian together) stages. As usual in stratigraphy, there are many other regional and local subdivisions in use.

Climate

Climates became cooler and drier, and seasonal, similar to modern climates. Ice sheets grew on Antarctica during the Pliocene. The formation of an Arctic ice cap around 3 mya is signaled by an abrupt shift in oxygen isotope ratios and ice-rafted cobbles in the North Atlantic and North Pacific ocean beds. Mid-latitude glaciation was probably underway before the end of the epoch. The global cooling that occurred during the Pliocene may have spurred on the disappearance of forests and the spread of grasslands and savannas.

Paleogeography

Continents continued to drift, moving from positions possibly as far as 250 km from their present locations to positions only 70 km from their current locations. South America became linked to North America through the Isthmus of Panama during the Pliocene, making possible the Great American Interchange and bringing a nearly complete end to South America's distinctive large marsupial predator and native ungulate faunas. The formation of the Isthmus had major consequences on global temperatures, since warm equatorial ocean currents were cut off and an Atlantic cooling cycle began, with cold Arctic and Antarctic waters dropping temperatures in the now-isolated Atlantic Ocean.

Africa's collision with Europe formed the Mediterranean Sea, cutting off the remnants of the Tethys Ocean.

Sea level changes exposed the land-bridge between Alaska and Asia.

Pliocene marine rocks are well exposed in the Mediterranean, India, and China. Elsewhere, they are exposed largely near shores.

Flora

The change to a cooler, dry, seasonal climate had considerable impacts on Pliocene vegetation, reducing tropical species worldwide. Deciduous forests proliferated, coniferous forests and tundra covered much of the north, and grasslands spread on all continents (except Antarctica). Tropical forests were limited to a tight band around the equator, and in addition to dry savannahs, deserts appeared in Asia and Africa.

Fauna

Both marine and continental faunas were essentially modern, although continental faunas were a bit more primitive than today. The first recognizable hominins, the australopithecines, appeared in the Pliocene.

The land mass collisions meant great migration and mixing of previously isolated species, such as in the Great American Interchange. Herbivores got bigger, as did specialized predators.

Image:Oliva sayana.jpg|The gastropod Oliva sayana, from the Pliocene of Florida.Image:Cladocora.jpg|The coral Cladocora from the Pliocene of Cyprus.Image:CyprusPlioceneGastropod.JPG|A gastropod and attached serpulid wormtube from the Pliocene of Cyprus.Image:Turritellatricarinata.jpg|The gastropod Turritella carinata from the Pliocene of Cyprus.Image:SpondylusPliocene.jpg|The thorny oysterSpondylus right and left valve interiors from the Pliocene of Cyprus.Image:SpondylusArticulated.jpg|Articulated Spondylus from the Pliocene of Cyprus.Image:Diodoraitalica.jpg|The limpet Diodora italica from the Pliocene of Cyprus.Image:DentaliumPliocene.jpg|The scaphopod Dentalium from the Pliocene of Cyprus.File:Aporrhais from Pliocene.jpg|The gastropod Aporrhais from the Pliocene of Cyprus.Image:AnadaraPliocene.jpg|The arcid bivalve Anadara from the Pliocene of Cyprus.Image:Ammusiumcristatum.jpg|The pectenid bivalve Ammusium cristatum from the Pliocene of Cyprus.Image:SerpulidCyprusPliocene01.jpg|Tube of a serpulid worm attached to a branch of the coral Cladocora from the Pliocene of Cyprus.]]

Mammals

In North America, rodents, large mastodonts and gomphotheres, and opossums continued successfully, while hoofed animals (ungulates) declined, with camel, deer and horse all seeing populations recede. Rhinos, three toed horses (Nannipus), oreodonts, protoceratid, and chalicotheres went extinct. Borophagine dogs went extinct, but other carnivores including the weasel family diversified, and dogs and fast-running hunting bears did well. Ground sloths, huge glyptodonts, and armadillos came north with the formation of the Isthmus of Panama.

In Eurasia rodents did well, while primate distribution declined. Elephants, gomphotheres and stegodonts were successful in Asia, and hyraxes migrated north from Africa. Horse diversity declined, while tapirs and rhinos did fairly well. Cows and antelopes were successful, and some camel species crossed into Asia from North America. Hyenas and early saber-toothed cats appeared, joining other predators including dogs, bears and weasels.

Human evolution during the Pliocene

ImageSize = width:350 height:230PlotArea = left:20 right:20 bottom:20 top:0AlignBars = justify Colors = id:color1 value:rgb(1,1,0.7) # light yellow id:color2 value:rgb(0.7,0.7,1) # light blue id:color3 value:rgb(0.7,1,0.7) # light green id:color4 value:rgb(1,0.9216,0.3843) # 255/235/98 id:events value:rgb(1,0.3,1) # light purple Period = from:1806000 till:5332000TimeAxis = orientation:horizontalScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1000000 start:2000000ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:250000 start:2000000 BarData = bar:Events bar:bar0 bar:bar1 bar:bar2 bar:bar3 bar:bar4 bar:bar5 bar:bar6 bar:bar7 bar:bar8 bar:bar9 bar:bar10 bar:bar11 bar:bar12 bar:bar13 bar:bar14 bar:bar15 bar:bar16 bar:bar17 bar:bar18 bar:bar19 PlotData= width:15 mark:(line,red) textcolor:black bar:Events color:events align:right shift:(-5,10) at:5000000 text:"Split between Homo and Pan~using molecular clock, about 7 Ma" width:7 mark:none color:events align:right shift:(-5,-4) bar:bar3 from:5200000 till:end at:5200000 text:Ar. kadabba bar:bar5 from:4200000 till:end at:4200000 text:Ar. ramidus align:left shift:(5,-4) bar:bar7 from:3900000 till:4400000 at:4400000 text:A. anamensis bar:bar9 from:3000000 till:3900000 at:3900000 text:A. afarensis bar:bar11 from:3000000 till:3500000 at:3500000 text:A. bahrelghazali bar:bar13 from:2400000 till:3300000 at:3300000 text:A. africanus bar:bar15 from:2000000 till:3000000 at:3000000 text:A. garhi bar:bar17 from:start till:2500000 at:2500000 text:H. habilis bar:bar19 from:start till:1900000 at:1900000 text:H. erectus bar:bar7 from:2500000 till:2700000 at:2700000 text:P. aethiopicus bar:bar5 from:start till:2600000 at:2600000 text:P. boisei bar:bar3 from:start till:2000000 at:2000000 text:P. robustus mark:none bar:bar1 at:start text:Genus Paranthropus bar:bar5 from:1806000 till:2735000 width:45 color:color1 bar:bar5 from:1856000 till:2665000 width:35 color:white bar:bar1 at:end align:right shift:(-5,-4) text:Genus Ardipithecus bar:bar4 from:4165000 till:5332000 width:29 color:color4 bar:bar4 from:4235000 till:5282000 width:19 color:white bar:bar17 at:end align:right shift:(-5,-6) text:Genus Australopithecus bar:bar11 from:1965000 till:4435000 width:71 color:color2 bar:bar11 from:2035000 till:4365000 width:61 color:white bar:bar19 at:2535000 shift:(10,-10) text:Genus Homo bar:bar18 from:1806000 till:2535000 width:29 color:color3 bar:bar18 from:1856000 till:2465000 width:19 color:white TextData = pos:(59,14) text:"Years"

Africa was dominated by hoofed animals, and primates continued their evolution, with australopithecines (some of the first hominid) appearing in the late Pliocene. Rodents were successful, and elephant populations increased. Cows and antelopes continued diversification and overtaking pigs in numbers of species. Early giraffes appeared, and camels migrated via Asia from North America. Horses and modern rhinos came onto the scene. Bears, dogs and weasels (originally from North America) joined cats, hyenas and civets as the African predators, forcing hyenas to adapt as specialized scavengers.

South America was invaded by North American species for the first time since the Cretaceous, with North American rodents and primates mixing with southern forms.Litopterns and the notoungulate, South American natives, were mostly wiped out, except for the macrauchenids and toxodonts, which managed to survive. Small weasel-like carnivorous mustelids and coatis migrated from the north. Grazing glyptodonts, browsing giant ground sloths and smaller caviomorph rodents, pampathere, and armadillos did the opposite, migrating to the north and thriving there.

The marsupials remained the dominant Australian mammals, with herbivore forms including wombats and kangaroos, and the huge diprotodonts. Carnivorous marsupials continued hunting in the Pliocene, including dasyurids, the dog-like thylacine and cat-like Thylacoleo. The first rodents arrived in Australia. The modern platypus, a monotreme, appeared.

Birds

The predatory South American phorusrhacids were rare in this time; among the last was Titanis, a large phorusrhacid that migrated to North America and rivaled mammals as top predator. Its distinct feature was its claws, which had re-evolved for grasping prey, such as Hipparion. Other birds probably evolved at this time, some modern, some now extinct.

Reptiles

Alligators and crocodiles died out in Europe as the climate cooled. Venomous snake genera continued to increase as more rodents and birds evolved. Rattlesnakes first appeared in the Pliocene. The modern species Alligator mississippiensis, having evolved in the Miocene, continued into the Pliocene, except with a more northern range; specimens have been found in very late Miocene deposits of Tennessee. Giant tortoises still thrived in North America, with genera like Hesperotestudo. Madtsoid snakes were still present in Australia.

Oceans

Oceans continued to be relatively warm during the Pliocene, though they continued cooling. The Arctic ice cap formed, drying the climate and increasing cool shallow currents in the North Atlantic. Deep cold currents flowed from the Antarctic.

The formation of the Isthmus of Panama about 3.5 million years ago cut off the final remnant of what was once essentially a circum-equatorial current that had existed since the Cretaceous and the early Cenozoic. This may have contributed to further cooling of the oceans worldwide.

The Pliocene seas were alive with sea cows, seal and sea lions.

Supernovae

In 2002, astronomers discovered that roughly 2 million years ago, around the end of the Pliocene epoch, a group of bright O and B stars called the Scorpius-Centaurus OB association passed within 150 light-years of Earth and that one or more supernovae may have occurred in this group at that time. Such a close explosion could have damaged the Earth's ozone layer and caused the extinction of some ocean life (consider that at its peak, a supernova of this size could have the same absolute magnitude as an entire galaxy of 200 billion stars).

See also

• List of fossil sites (with link directory)

References

Further reading

• ; 2004: A Geologic Time Scale 2004, Cambridge University Press.

External links

• Mid-Pliocene Global Warming: NASA/GISS Climate Modeling
• Palaeos Pliocene
• PBS Change: Deep Time: Pliocene
• Possible Pliocene supernova
• "Supernova dealt deaths on Earth? Stellar blasts may have killed ancient marine life" Science News Online retrieved February 2, 2002
• UCMP Berkeley Pliocene Epoch Page