Home US English Pliocene

Definition of Pliocene in English:

Pliocene

Translate Pliocene into Spanish

adjective

Geology

  • Relating to or denoting the last epoch of the Tertiary period, between the Miocene and Pleistocene epochs.

    ‘the coastline is formed by a soft Pliocene limestone’
    • ‘The sediments recovered are of Early Pleistocene to Late Pliocene age.’
    • ‘These species are widely distributed in Upper Miocene and Pliocene deposits in tropical America, forming a morphologically distinctive group.’
    • ‘Miocene to middle Pliocene species are widely distributed in Europe, Africa, Australia, North and South America.’
    • ‘The fossils from the formation represent organisms that thrived during the Pliocene epoch, at the end of the Tertiary period.’
    • ‘Nevertheless whatever the cause of folding in the Miocene sediments, the important point is that the Pliocene sediments have no sign of similar deformation and unconformably overlie the Miocene.’

Pronunciation

Pliocene

/ˈplīəˌsēn/ /ˈplaɪəˌsin/

noun

Geology

  • the PlioceneThe last epoch of the Tertiary period, between the Miocene and Pleistocene epochs, or the system of rocks deposited during it.

    The Pliocene epoch lasted from 5.2 million to 1.64 million years ago. Temperatures were falling at this time and many mammals were becoming extinct. The first hominids, including Australopithecus and Homo habilis, appeared

    • ‘kangaroo rats were first seen in the Pliocene’

Pronunciation

Pliocene

/ˈplīəˌsēn/ /ˈplaɪəˌsin/

Origin

Mid 19th century from Greek pleiōn ‘more’ + kainos ‘new’.