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Increase in grasslands & savannas
Increase in grasslands & savannas
The Pliocene Epoch (5.3-2.6 Ma) is in the Neogene Period of the Cenozoic Era. It occurs before the Pleistocene, and after the Miocene Epoch.
Geologic Age
Geologic Age
5.333–2.58 million years ago
Subdivisions
Subdivisions
Piacenzian: 3.600–2.58 Ma
Zanclean: 5.333–3.600 Ma
Eon / Era / Period
Eon / Era / Period
What happened during this time?
What happened during this time?
Biological
Biological
Grasslands spread on all continents (except Antarctica)
Dry savannas and deserts appear
Deciduous forests proliferated
Coniferous forests and tundra cover the northern hemisphere
Tropical forests were restricted to the equator, and species are reduced
Geophysical
Geophysical
The extent of sea ice cover in the Arctic was much less than it is today
The maximum winter extent did not reach its current location until around 2.6 Ma
Additional Reading
Additional Reading
Half-ton early bovines roamed 4-million-year-old grasslands in Europe (Public Library of Science 3June2026)
└First of a line or last of a dynasty? Parabos tigneresi and the evolution of Eurasian Bovinae in the Early Pliocene (Sorbelli et al, 2026)
Ancient Antarctica reveals a 'one–two punch' behind ice sheet collapse (Phys.org 5Jan2025)
└Spatially variable response of Antarctica's ice sheets to orbital forcing during the Pliocene (Patterson et al., 2025)
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