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Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic (, ), is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth-largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico, Colombia and Spain are more populous.
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{{Infobox country
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California (pronounced ) is the most populous state in the United States and the third-largest by land area, after Alaska and Texas. California is also the most populous sub-national entity in North America. It's on the U.S. West Coast, bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west and by the states of Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, Baja California, Mexico, to the south. Its 5 largest cities are Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, and Long Beach, with Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose each having at least 1 million residents. Like many populous states, California's capital, Sacramento is smaller than the state's largest city, Los Angeles. The state is home to the nation's 2nd- and 6th-largest census statistical areas and 8 of the nation's 50 most populous cities. California has a varied climate and geography and a multi-cultural population.
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India (), officially the Republic of India ( ; see also official names of India), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.18 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Mainland India is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east; and it is bordered by Pakistan to the west; Bhutan, the People's Republic of China and Nepal to the north; and Bangladesh and Burma to the east. In the Indian Ocean, mainland India and the Lakshadweep Islands are in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives, while India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share maritime border with Thailand and the Indonesian island of Sumatra in the Andaman Sea. India has a coastline of .
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Japan (日本 Nihon or Nippon), officially the State of Japan ( or Nihon-koku), is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin" (because it lies to the east of nearby countries), which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
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{{Infobox Country
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The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.
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Turkey (), known officially as the Republic of Turkey (), is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between Eastern Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.
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- Allodesmus
- Altonian
- Andes
- annum
- ape
- Aphelops
- Aquitanian age
- Arabia
- Argentina
- Arikareean
- Asia
- Australia
- Awamoan
- Bairnsdalian
- Balcombian
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- Batesfordian
- beaver
- Borophaginae
- Brown alga
- Burdigalian
- caiman
- calcite
- California
- camel
- canids
- carbon dioxide
- Cetaceans
- Chasicoan
- Clarendonian
- Cliffdenian
- co-evolution
- cockatoo
- Colhuehuapian
- Colloncurian
- Continent
- Continental drift
- crow
- dabbling duck
- deer
- Delmontian
- Deseadan
- East Africa
- east Asia
- entelodont
- Eocene
- Eurasia
- Europe
- false gharial
- family (biology)
- Fauna (animals)
- faunal stage
- fish
- foraminifera
- Friasian
- Fujian (geology)
- Geologic time scale
- gomphotheres
- Great Plains
- Haranoyan
- Hemingfordian
- Hemphillian
- hominid
- horse
- Huayquerian
- Hutchinsonian (age)
- Ice Age
- India
- invertebrate
- invertebrates
- Japan
- Kaburan
- Kapitean
- kelp
- Langhian
- Laventan
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- List of fossil sites
- Longfordian
- Luisian
- Lystromycter
- Mayoian
- Mediterranean
- Meso-American
- Messinian
- Middle Miocene
- Middle Pliocene
- Mitchellian
- Mohnian
- Montehermosan
- Mourasuchus
- NALMA
- Neogene
- New Zealand
- nimravid
- North America
- Old World
- Oligocene
- oreodont
- Otaian
- otter
- Pacific Ocean
- pinniped
- Pliocene
- plover
- Purussaurus
- raccoons
- rafting event
- Relizian
- Rhamphosuchus
- ruminant
- SALMA
- Santacrucian
- Saucesian
- Serravallian
- silica
- Sir Charles Lyell
- South America
- sperm whale
- subduction zone
- Teleoceras
- Tethys Ocean
- Thinobadistes
- three-toed horse
- Tongaporutuan
- Tortonian
- Tozawan
- Turkey
- typical owl
- Waiauan
- whale
- Yuian
- Zemorrian
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- Africa
- Allodesmus
- Altonian
- Andes
- annum
- ape
- Aphelops
- Aquitanian age
- Arabia
- Argentina
- Arikareean
- Asia
- Australia
- Awamoan
- Bairnsdalian
- Balcombian
- Barstovian
- Batesfordian
- beaver
- Borophaginae
- Brown alga
- Burdigalian
- caiman
- calcite
- California
- camel
- canids
- carbon dioxide
- Cetaceans
- Chasicoan
- Clarendonian
- Cliffdenian
- co-evolution
- cockatoo
- Colhuehuapian
- Colloncurian
- Continent
- Continental drift
- crow
- dabbling duck
- deer
- Delmontian
- Deseadan
- East Africa
- east Asia
- entelodont
- Eocene
- Eurasia
- Europe
- false gharial
- family (biology)
- Fauna (animals)
- faunal stage
- fish
- foraminifera
- Friasian
- Fujian (geology)
- Geologic time scale
- gomphotheres
- Great Plains
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The earth went from the Oligocene Epoch through the Miocene and into the Pliocene as it cooled into a series of Ice Ages. The Miocene boundaries are not marked by a single distinct global event but consist rather of regional boundaries between the warmer Oligocene and the cooler Pliocene.
The plants and animals of the Miocene were fairly modern. Mammals and birds were well-established. Whales, seals, and kelp spread. At the end of this epoch, the Himalayas started to rise.
Subdivisions
The Miocene faunal stages from youngest to oldest are typically named according to the International Commission on Stratigraphy:{| | Messinian | (7.246–5.332 Ma) |- | Tortonian | (11.608–7.246 Ma) |- | Serravallian | (13.65–11.608 Ma) |- | Langhian | (15.97–13.65 Ma) |- | Burdigalian | (20.43–15.97 Ma) |- | Aquitanian | (23.03–20.43 Ma) |}
These subdivisions within the Miocene are defined by the relative abundance of different species of calcareous nanofossils (calcite platelets shed by brown single-celled algae) and foraminifera (single-celled protists with diagnostic shells). Two subdivisions each form the Early, Middle and Late Miocene.
Regionally, other systems are used. These ages often extend across the ICS epoch boundary into the Pliocene and Oligocene:
Australia
Australian Miocene ages are very finely divided in the early Middle Miocene, while most of the rest of the Miocene had a rather constant fauna as far as is known: {| | Mitchellian | (10.5–5 Ma); extends into the Early Pliocene |- | Bairnsdalian | (15–10.5 Ma) |- | Balcombian | (15.5–15 Ma) |- | Batesfordian | (16.5–15.5 Ma) |- | Longfordian | (27.5–16.5 Ma); includes much of the Late Oligocene |}
California
Californian sites provide a sequence distinct from the main North American one: {| | Delmontian | (7.5 –2.9 Ma); includes much of the Pliocene |- | Mohnian | (13.5–7.5 Ma) |- | Luisian | (15.5–13.5 Ma) |- | Relizian | (16.5–15.5 Ma) |- | Saucesian | (22–16.5 Ma) |- | Zemorrian | (33.5–22 Ma); includes nearly all the Oligocene |}
Japan
Japanese Miocene ages only start in the mid-Burdigalian; the ICS ages are used in much of the Early Miocene: {| | Yuian | (9.5–3.6 Ma); includes the Early Pliocene |- | Fujian | (11.1–9.5 Ma) |- | Kaburan | (13.5–11.1 Ma) |- | Tozawan | (15.97–13.5 Ma) |- | Haranoyan | (18.2–15.97 Ma) |}
New Zealand
In New Zealand, the following ages are recognized: {| | Kapitean | (6–4.8 Ma); extends into the Early Pliocene |- | Tongaporutuan | (10–6 Ma) |- | Waiauan | (11.5–10 Ma) |- | Lillburnian | (15–11.5 Ma) |- | Cliffdenian | (16.5–15 Ma) |- | Altonian | (17.5–16.5 Ma) |- | Awamoan | (20–17.5 Ma) |- | Hutchinsonian | (21–20 Ma) |- | Otaian | (23.03–21 Ma) |}
North America
In most of North America, faunal stages are defined according to the land mammal fauna (North American Land Mammal Ages or NALMAs):{| | Hemphillian | (9–4.75 Ma); includes much of the Early Pliocene |- | Clarendonian | (11.8–9 Ma) |- | Barstovian | (15.5–11.8 Ma) |- | Hemingfordian | (19–15.5 Ma) |- | Arikareean | (30.5–19 Ma); includes much of the Oligocene |}
South America
In South America, a system similar to the North American one is used; its periods are correspondingly called SALMAs (South American Land Mammal Ages): {| | Huayquerian | (9–5.4 Ma); the Montehermosan barely extends into the Pliocene |- | Chasicoan | (10–9 Ma) |- | Mayoian | (12–10 Ma) |- | Laventan | (13.8–12 Ma) |- | Colloncurian | (15.5–12 Ma) |- | Friasian | (16.3–15.5 Ma) |- | Santacrucian | (17.5–16.3 Ma) |- | Colhuehuapian | (21–17.5 Ma) |- | Deseadan | (29–21 Ma); includes much of the Oligocene |}
Paleogeography
Continents continued to drift toward their present positions. Of the modern geologic features, only the land bridge between South America and North America was absent, although South America was approaching the western subduction zone in the Pacific Ocean, causing both the rise of the Andes and a southward extension of the Meso-American peninsula.Mountain building took place in Western North America, Europe, and east Asia. Both continental and marine Miocene deposits are common worldwide with marine outcrops common near modern shorelines. Well studied continental exposures occur in the American Great Plains and in Argentina.
India continued to collide with Asia, creating dramatic new mountain ranges. The Tethys Seaway continued to shrink and then disappeared as Africa collided with Eurasia in the Turkish-Arabian region between 19 and 12 Ma. The subsequent uplift of mountains in the western Mediterranean region and a global fall in sea levels combined to cause a temporary drying up of the Mediterranean Sea (known as the Messinian salinity crisis) near the end of the Miocene.
The global trend was towards increasing aridity caused primarily by global cooling reducing the ability of the atmosphere to absorb moisture. Uplift of East Africa in the Late Miocene was partly responsible for the shrinking of tropical rain forests in that region, and Australia got drier as it entered a zone of low rainfall in the Late Miocene.
Life
Flora
Grasslands underwent a major expansion; forests fell victim to a generally cooler and drier climate overall. Grasses also diversified greatly, co-evolving with large herbivores and grazers, including ruminants. Between 7 and 6 million years ago, there occurred a sudden expansion of grasses which were able to assimilate carbon dioxide more efficiently but were also richer in silica, causing a worldwide extinction of large herbivores. The expansion of grasslands and radiations among terrestrial herbivores such as horses can be linked to fluctuations in CO2.
Fauna
Both marine and continental fauna were fairly modern, although marine mammals were less numerous. Only in isolated South America and Australia did widely divergent fauna exist. In the Early Miocene, several Oligocene groups were still diverse, including nimravids, entelodonts, and three-toed horses. Like in the previous Oligocene epoch, oreodonts were still diverse, only to disappear in the earliest Pliocene. During the later Miocene mammals were more modern, with recognizable dogs, raccoons, horses, beaver, deer, camels, and whales, along with now extinct groups like borophagine dogs, gomphotheres, three-toed horses, and semi-aquatic and hornless rhinos like Teleoceras and Aphelops. Islands began to form between South and North America in the Late Miocene, allowing ground sloths like Thinobadistes to island-hop to North America.Unequivocally recognizable dabbling ducks, plovers, typical owls, cockatoos and crows appear during the Miocene. By the epoch's end, all or almost all modern bird families are believed to have been present; the few post-Miocene bird fossils which cannot be placed in the evolutionary tree with full confidence are simply too badly preserved instead of too equivocal in character. Marine birds reached their highest diversity ever in the course of this epoch.
Approximately 100 species of apes lived during this time. They ranged over much of the Old World and varied widely in size, diet, and anatomy. Due to scanty fossil evidence it is unclear which ape or apes contributed to the modern hominid clade, but molecular evidence indicates this ape lived from between 15 to 12 million years ago.
In the oceans, Brown algae, called kelp, proliferated, supporting new species of sea life, including otters, fish and various invertebrates.
Cetaceans attained their greatest diversity during the Miocene, with over 20 recognized genera in comparison to only six living genera. This diversification correlates with emergence of gigantic macro-predators such as megatoothed sharks and raptorial sperm whales. Prominent examples are C. megalodon and L. melvillei.
Crocodilians also showed signs of diversification during Miocene. The largest form among them was a gigantic caiman Purussaurus which inhabited South America. Another gigantic form was a false gharial Rhamphosuchus, which inhabited modern age India. A strange form Mourasuchus also thrived alongside Purussaurus. This species developed a specialized filter-feeding mechanism, and it likely preyed upon small fauna despite of its gigantic size.
The pinnipeds, which appeared near the end of the Oligocene, became more aquatic. Prominent genus was Allodesmus.
Oceans
There is evidence from oxygen isotopes at Deep Sea Drilling Program sites that ice began to build up in Antarctica about 36 Ma during the Eocene. Further marked decreases in temperature during the Middle Miocene at 15 Ma probably reflect increased ice growth in Antarctica. It can therefore be assumed that East Antarctica had some glaciers during the early to mid Miocene (23–15 Ma). Oceans cooled partly due the formation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, and about 15 million years ago the ice cap in the southern hemisphere started to grow to its present form. The Greenland ice cap developed later, in the Middle Pliocene time, about 3 million years ago.
Middle Miocene disruption
See also
Footnotes
==References== (1998): The Cenozoic. Retrieved 2008-SEP-20. (2008): The impact of Miocene atmospheric carbon dioxide fluctuations on climate and the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems. PNAS 105(2): 449–53. (HTML abstract) Supporting tables (2005): GeoWhen Database. Retrieved 2011-03-08. (1999): Earth system history. Freeman, New York. ISBN 0716728826
Further reading
(1993): Biogeography. An ecological and evolutionary approach (5th ed.). Blackwell Scientific Publications, Cambridge. ISBN 0632029676 (2004): Overview of Global Boundary Stratotype Sections and Points (GSSP's). Retrieved 2006-04-30.
External links
ast:Miocenu br:Miosen bg:Миоцен ca:Miocè cs:Miocén da:Miocæn de:Miozän et:Miotseen es:Mioceno eo:Mioceno eu:Miozeno fr:Miocène ko:마이오세 hi:मध्यनूतन कल्प io:Mioceno id:Miosen it:Miocene he:מיוקן la:Miocaenum lb:Miozän lt:Miocenas hu:Miocén mk:Миоцен nl:Mioceen ja:中新世 no:Miocen nn:Miocen nds:Miozän pl:Miocen pt:Mioceno ro:Miocen ru:Миоцен simple:Miocene sk:Miocén sl:Miocen sh:Miocen fi:Mioseeni sv:Miocen tr:Miyosen uk:Міоцен vi:Thế Miocen zh:中新世
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