Pliocene facts for kids
The Pliocene (Pleiocene in older texts) was a short geological epoch at the end of the Neogene. It began 5.3 million years ago (mya), and ended 2.6 mya. The Pliocene follows the Miocene and is followed by the Pleistocene.
The world continued to get cooler and drier in the Pliocene. Tropical rain forests and deciduous forests shrank. Grasslands grew, and many herbivorous mammals became grazers instead of browsers. Hominid evolution took a new turn as some apes started to live on the savannah instead of the forests (Australopithecines).
Images for kids
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Some schemes for subdivisions of the Pliocene
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Mid-Pliocene reconstructed annual sea surface temperature anomaly
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19th century artist's impression of a Pliocene landscape
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Titanis
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A gastropod and attached serpulid wormtube from the Pliocene of Cyprus
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The gastropod Turritella carinata from the Pliocene of Cyprus
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The thorny oyster Spondylus right and left valve interiors from the Pliocene of Cyprus
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The limpet Diodora italica from the Pliocene of Cyprus
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The scaphopod Dentalium from the Pliocene of Cyprus
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The arcid bivalve Anadara from the Pliocene of Cyprus
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The pectenid bivalve Ammusium cristatum from the Pliocene of Cyprus
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Chesapecten, barnacles and sponge borings (Entobia) from the Pliocene of York River, Virginia
See also
In Spanish: Plioceno para niños
