Middle Miocene
Encyclopedia
The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...

 Epoch
Epoch (geology)
An epoch is a subdivision of the geologic timescale based on rock layering. In order, the higher subdivisions are periods, eras and eons. We are currently living in the Holocene epoch...

 made up of two stages
Faunal stage
In chronostratigraphy, a stage is a succession of rock strata laid down in a single age on the geologic timescale, which usually represents millions of years of deposition. A given stage of rock and the corresponding age of time will by convention have the same name, and the same boundaries.Rock...

: the Langhian
Langhian
The Langhian is, in the ICS geologic timescale, an age or stage in the middle Miocene epoch/series. It spans the time between 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma and 13.65 ± 0.05 Ma . The Langhian was a continuing warming period defined by Lorenzo Pareto in 1864, it was originally established in the Langhe area north...

 and Serravallian
Serravallian
The Serravallian is in the geologic timescale an age or a stage in the middle Miocene epoch/series, that spans the time between 13.65 ± 0.05 Ma and 11.608 ± 0.005 Ma...

 stages. The Middle Miocene is preceded by the Early Miocene
Early Miocene
The Early Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages....

.

The sub-epoch lasted from 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma to 11.608 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago). During this period, a sharp drop in global temperatures took place. This event is known as the Middle Miocene Climate Transition.

For the purposes of establishing European Land Mammal Ages
European Land Mammal Ages
The European Land Mammal Mega Zones are zones in rock layers that have a specific assemblage of fossils based on occurrences of fossil assemblages of European land mammals. These biozones cover most of the Neogene and Paleogene systems The European Land Mammal Mega Zones (abbreviation: ELMMZ,...

 this sub-epoch is equivalent to the Astaracian age
Astaracian
The Astaracian age age is a period of geologic time , equivalent with the Middle Miocene and used more specifically with European Land Mammal Ages. It precedes the Vallesian age and follows the Orleanian age. The Astaracian overlaps the Langhian and Serravallian ages....

.

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