The Neogene Period lasted from 23 million to 2.6 million years ago. During this period, grasslands and savannahs replaced vast areas of forest. More modern mammals evolved as their habitats changed, and complex patterns of mammalian evolution resulted from shifting climates and separating continents. The Neogene Period ended approximately 2.6 million years ago at the conclusion of the Pliocene Epoch, when a supernova may have triggered climate change and mass extinction.
The Neogene Period lasted from 23 million to 2.6 million years ago. During this period, grasslands and savannahs replaced vast areas of forest. More modern mammals evolved as their habitats changed, and complex patterns of mammalian evolution resulted from shifting climates and separating continents. The Neogene Period ended approximately 2.6 million years ago at the conclusion of the Pliocene Epoch, when a supernova may have triggered climate change and mass extinction.
The Neogene Period lasted from 23 million to 2.6 million years ago. During this period, grasslands and savannahs replaced vast areas of forest. More modern mammals evolved as their habitats changed, and complex patterns of mammalian evolution resulted from shifting climates and separating continents. The Neogene Period ended approximately 2.6 million years ago at the conclusion of the Pliocene Epoch, when a supernova may have triggered climate change and mass extinction.
The Neogene Period lasted from 23 million to 2.6 million years ago. During this period, grasslands and savannahs replaced vast areas of forest. More modern mammals evolved as their habitats changed, and complex patterns of mammalian evolution resulted from shifting climates and separating continents. The Neogene Period ended approximately 2.6 million years ago at the conclusion of the Pliocene Epoch, when a supernova may have triggered climate change and mass extinction.
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Neogene Period
23 million – 2.6 million years ago
Neogene Period
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How did the Neogene period started? • The Neogene, which means “new born”. • Neogene Period, the second of three divisions of the Cenozoic Era. • The Neogene period follows the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. It has the Miocene and the Pliocene epochs. • The Neogene period lasted for almost 20 million years. • During this period, mammals and birds continued to evolve into roughly modern forms.
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Neogene Period • The Neogene Period started with the replacement of vast areas of forest by grasslands and savannahs. • Complex patterns of mammalian evolution resulted from changing climates and continental separations. • More modern mammals evolved as grasslands became widespread and the climate cooled and dried. • The dramatic cooling phases of the Neogene lead to more distinctive latitudinal biotic zones.
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Neogene Scene Kellan Korcheck and M. Royce
In this artist’s reconstruction we see, from
left to right, a Wooly Mammoth behind an apple tree , early horses in the background, a Terror Bird, a flying insect, a Big Brown Bat, a crocodile in the pond, a Saber-tooth Cat on the shore, and Ground Sloths in the forest.
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Miocene Epoch (23.03–5.332 Ma) • The Miocene comprised most of the Neogene Period making it the second longest Epoch of the Cenozoic Era. • The Miocene was a long-lasting epoch in which the earth's climate rebounded from the cooling of the Oligocene and there was a marked increase in both global temperatures and the total number of mammal species. • Wide expanses of grasslands formed across the Northern Hemisphere and supported a variety of new types of mammals.
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Miocene Epoch • As the Miocene progressed, the earth began to cool once more; the climate became more arid and mammalian diversity began to decrease again. • Grasslands underwent a major expansion in the early Miocene. • The Miocene Epoch is of great importance to primate evolution. • The Miocene epoch paved the way for hominids to live in Eurasia and Africa
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Neogene Period
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9 06/06/2023 Add a footer Pliocene Epoch (5.332–2.588 Ma) • Pliocene Epoch, second of two major worldwide divisions of the Neogene Period, spanning the interval from about 5.3 million to 2.6 million years ago. • It was a time of global cooling after the warmer Miocene. • During the Pliocene the tectonic plates of India and Asia also collided, which formed the Himalayas. • Tremendous events occurred during the Pliocene, such as the development of ice caps, the drying of the Mediterranean, and the joining of the Americas.
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Pliocene Epoch • Grasslands and savannahs continued to be commonplace as shown in the mural above emphasizing common Pliocene American mammals. • The climate of the Pliocene is thought to have been much warmer than it is today. • Less ice at the poles also resulted in a sea level that is thought to have been about 30 meters higher than today's. • The more-advanced primates continued to evolve in the Pliocene, with australopithecines.
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Australopithecines • The first creatures that can be termed human, appearing early in the epoch. It proved that our early human relatives habitually walked on two legs.
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What organisms are formed? Mammoth These gigantic creatures lived in Africa. Then, they disappeared about three or four million years ago. Mammoths grew to a height of 13 feet and weighed seven tons. Males and females both had curving, extended tusks. They had a significant downward slope to the back because of the longer front legs.
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Mastodons These giants were smaller than mammoths, nearly the size of modern elephants. Their elongated tusks were more parallel and straighter. Their legs were shorter and their bodies longer. The shape of their teeth was different than that of mammoths. Their teeth were more cone-like and blunt, meant for browsing. Mastodons are herbivores.
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Megalodon This scary giant shark weighed as much as 30 large great whites and reached up to 60 feet in length. These giant sharks lived through the drastic environmental changes on the planet. They stayed in the ocean and thrived. The Megalodon, or megatooth, ruled the oceans from 17 million to about three million years ago. Scientists believe that this gargantuan shark ate about 2,500 pounds of food each day.
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Unique description of the period Unique description of the period • Dominated by vast areas of forest by grasslands and savannahs. • The savannahs and grasslands provided new food supplies and habitats that aided in the evolution of mammals and birds. • Whales diversified in the seas, and sharks reached their largest size during the Miocene. • Global temperatures have been decreasing and atmospheric CO2 levels have been gradually declining throughout this time period. • The evolution of apes and hominids was the most important occurrence of the Neogene era. • Many of reptiles and birds of the Neogene Period went extinct.
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How did the period ended How did the period ended • The Neogene traditionally ended at the end of the Pliocene Epoch. • Ended approximately 2.6 million years ago (Pliocene epoch), • A tsunami of cosmic energy from a massive supernova or a series of them about 150 light-years away reached Earth and pummeled the atmosphere, touching off climate change and triggering the mass extinction of large marine animals.
