Information about Neogene

For the hawkmoth genus, see Neogene (moth).

Neogene Period is a unit of geologic time starting 23.03 ± 0.05 million years ago. The Neogene Period follows the Paleogene Period of the Cenozoic Era. Under the current proposal of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), the Neogene would consist of the Miocene, Pliocene, Pleistocene, and Holocene epochs and continue until the present.^[1]

The terms Neogene System (formal) and upper Tertiary System (informal) describe the rocks deposited during the Neogene Period.

The Neogene covers roughly 23 million years. During the Neogene mammals and birds evolved considerably. Most other forms were relatively unchanged. Some continental motion took place, the most significant event being the connection of North and South America in the late Pliocene. Climates cooled somewhat over the duration of the Neogene culminating in continental glaciations in the Quaternary sub-era (or period, in some time scales) that follows, and that saw the dawn of the genus Homo.

Neogene period
Miocene	Pliocene
Aquitanian \| Burdigalian \| Langhian Serravallian \| Tortonian \| Messinian	Zanclean \| Piacenzian → Quaternary

Controversy

The Neogene traditionally ended at the end of the Pliocene epoch, just before the older definition of the beginning of the Quaternary Period; many time scales show this division. However, there is a movement amongst geologists (particularly Neogene Marine Geologists) to also include ongoing geological time (Quaternary) in the Neogene, while others (particularly Quaternary Terrestrial Geologists) insist the Quaternary to be a separate period of distinctly different record. The somewhat confusing terminology and disagreement amongst geologists on where to draw what hierarchical boundaries, is due to the comparatively fine divisibility of time units as time approaches the present, and due to geological preservation that causes the youngest sedimentary geological record to be preserved over a much larger area and reflecting many more environments, than the slightly older geological record. By dividing the Cenozoic era into three (arguably two) periods (Paleogene, Neogene, Quaternary) instead of 7 epochs, the periods are more closely comparable to the duration of periods in the Mesozoic and Paleozoic eras.

The ICS once proposed that the Quaternary be considered a sub-era (sub-erathem) of the Neogene, with a beginning date of 2.588 Ma., namely the start of the Gelasian Stage. The International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) counterproposed that the Neogene and the Pliocene end at 2.588 Ma., that the Gelasian be transferred to the Pleistocene, and the Quaternary be recognized as the third period in the Cenozoic, citing the key changes in Earth's climate, oceans, and biota that occurred 2.588 Ma. and its correspondence to the Gauss-Matuyama magnetostratigraphic boundary.^[2] 2006 ICS and INQUA reached a compromise that made Quaternary a subera, subdividing Cenozoic into the old classical Tertiary and Quaternary, a compromise that was rejected by International Union of Geological Sciences because it split both Neogene and Pliocene in two.^[3]

References

1. ^ Lourens, L., Hilgen, F., Shackleton, N.J., Laskar, J., Wilson, D., (2004) “The Neogene Period”. In: Gradstein, F., Ogg, J., Smith, A.G. (Eds.), Geologic Time Scale Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
2. ^ Clague, John et al. (2006) "Open Letter by INQUA Executive Committee" Quaternary Perspective, the INQUA Newsletter International Union for Quaternary Research 16(1):
3. ^ ICS: CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2006, last retrieved in 15 June 2007

Cenozoic era
Paleogene	Neogene Quaternary

Neogene period
Miocene	Pliocene
Aquitanian \| Burdigalian \| Langhian Serravallian \| Tortonian \| Messinian	Zanclean \| Piacenzian → Quaternary

Sphingidae
Latreille, 1802

Diversity
About 200 genera,
roughly 1,200 species

Type species
Sphinx ligustri
Linnaeus, 1758

Subfamilies

Macroglossinae
Smerinthinae
Sphinginae

Sphingidae
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genus (plural: genera) is part of the Latinized name for an organism. It is a name which reflects the classification of the organism by grouping it with other closely similar organisms.
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The geological time scale is used by geologists and other scientists to describe the timing and relationships between events that have occurred during the history of Earth.
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The Paleogene (alternatively Palaeogene) period is a unit of geologic time that began 65.5 ± 0.3 and ended 23.03 ± 0.05 million years ago and comprises the first part of the Cenozoic era.
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The Cenozoic Era (IPA pronunciation: [ˌsiːnəˈzəʊɪk]); sometimes Caenozoic Era or Cainozoic Era (in the United Kingdom), meaning "new life" (Greek
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The International Commission on Stratigraphy concerns itself with stratigraphy on a global scale. It is the largest scientific body within the International Union of Geological Sciences.
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The Miocene Epoch is a period of time that extends from about 23.03 to 5.332 million years before the present. As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the start and end are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are uncertain.
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The Pliocene epoch (spelled Pleiocene in some older texts) is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 1.806 million years before present.

The Pliocene is the second epoch of the Neogene period in the Cenozoic era.
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Pleistocene epoch (IPA: /'plaɪstəsi:n/) on the geologic timescale is the period from 1,808,000 to 11,550 years BP. The Pleistocene epoch had been intended to cover the world's recent period of repeated glaciations.
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The Holocene epoch is a geological period, which began approximately 11,550 calendar years BP (about 9600 BC) and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Neogene and Quaternary periods.
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Mammalia
Linnaeus, 1758

Subclasses & Infraclasses

Subclass †Allotheria*
Subclass Prototheria
Subclass Theria

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Aves
Linnaeus, 1758

Orders

About two dozen - see section below

Birds (class Aves) are bipedal, warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate animals.
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North America is a continent ^[1] in the Earth's northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west
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South America is a continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie
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Quaternary Period is the geologic time period from the end of the Pliocene Epoch roughly 1.806 million years ago to the present. The Quaternary includes 2 geologic subdivisions — the Pleistocene, including Gelasian that used to belong to Pliocene, and the Holocene
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Homo
Linnaeus, 1758

Species

Homo sapiens
See text for extinct species.
Homo is the genus that includes modern humans and their close relatives. The genus is estimated to be between 1.5 and 2.5 million years old.
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Aquitanian is the first stage of the Miocene Epoch. It spans the time between 23.03 ± 0.05 Ma and 20.43 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). The Aquitanian Stage succeeds the Chattian age of the Oligocene Epoch and precedes the Burdigalian Stage.
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Burdigalian is a stage of the early Miocene Epoch. It spans the time between 20.43 ± 0.05 Ma and 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). It is named after Burdigala, the original name for Bordeaux, France.
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Langhian is a stage of the middle Miocene epoch that spans the time between 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma and 13.65 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago).

The Langhian stage was defined by M. F. Pareto in 1864, based on evidence from the Langhe area north of Ceva in northern Italy.
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Serravallian is a stage of the middle Miocene epoch that spans the time between 13.65 ± 0.05 Ma and 11.608 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago).

References

GeoWhen Database - Serravallian

Neogene period
Miocene Pliocene
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Torontonian is a stage of the late Miocene epoch that spans the time between 11.608 ± 0.005 Ma and 7.246 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago).

References

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Messinian is the last stage of the Miocene epoch. It spans the time between 7.246 ± 0.005 Ma and 5.332 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago). It is named after the Messinian evaporite deposit, which was named after Messina in Sicily.
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In the geologic time scale, the Zanclean (also known as Tabianian, Dacian) is a stage which makes up the Early Pliocene or Lower Pliocene subepoch. It spans the time between 5.332 ± 0.005 Ma and 3.6 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago).
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Piacenzian (also known as Astian, Redonian, or Romanian) is a stage of the Pliocene Epoch. It spans the time between 3.6 ± 0.005 Ma and 2.588 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago).
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Neogene

Controversy

References

References

See also

References