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Pliocene | |||||||||||
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![]() Map of Earth as it appeared 5 million years ago during the Pliocene, Zanclean stage | |||||||||||
Chronology | |||||||||||
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Etymology | |||||||||||
Name formality | Formal | ||||||||||
Usage information | |||||||||||
Celestial body | Earth | ||||||||||
Regional usage | Global (ICS) | ||||||||||
Time scale(s) used | ICS Time Scale | ||||||||||
Definition | |||||||||||
Chronological unit | Epoch | ||||||||||
Stratigraphic unit | Series | ||||||||||
Time span formality | Formal | ||||||||||
Lower boundary definition | Base of the Thvera magnetic event (C3n.4n), which is only 96 ka (5 precession cycles) younger than the GSSP | ||||||||||
Lower boundary GSSP | Heraclea Minoa section, Heraclea Minoa, Cattolica Eraclea, Sicily, Italy 37°23′30″N 13°16′50″E / 37.3917°N 13.2806°E | ||||||||||
Lower GSSP ratified | 2000[4] | ||||||||||
Upper boundary definition |
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Upper boundary GSSP | Monte San Nicola Section, Gela, Sicily, Italy 37°08′49″N 14°12′13″E / 37.1469°N 14.2035°E | ||||||||||
Upper GSSP ratified | 2009 (as base of Quaternary and Pleistocene)[5] |
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Human history and prehistory |
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↑ before Homo (Pliocene epoch) |
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The Pliocene ( /ˈplaɪ.əsiːn, ˈplaɪ.oʊ-/ PLY-ə-seen, PLY-oh-;[6][7] also Pleiocene)[8] is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58[9] million years ago. It is the second and most recent epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch. Prior to the 2009 revision of the geologic time scale, which placed the four most recent major glaciations entirely within the Pleistocene, the Pliocene also included the Gelasian Stage, which lasted from 2.588 to 1.806 million years ago, and is now included in the Pleistocene.[10]
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 Pliocene are not set at an easily identified worldwide event but rather at regional boundaries between the warmer Miocene and the relatively cooler Pleistocene. The upper boundary was set at the start of the Pleistocene glaciations.
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