science

Late Miocene

Late Miocene is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Late Miocene rather than just read about it. In short: The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch made up of two stages: the Tortonian and Messinian. It lasted from 11.63 Ma (million years ago) to 5.333 Ma.

Key takeaways

Late Miocene belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Late Miocene to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Late Miocene from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch made up of two stages: the Tortonian and Messinian. It lasted from 11.63 Ma (million years ago) to 5.333 Ma.

Biology The gibbons (family Hylobatidae) and then the orangutans (genus Pongo) were the first groups to split from the line leading to the hominins, including humans, then gorillas (genus Gorilla), and finally the chimpanzees (genus Pan). The splitting date between hominin and chimpanzee lineages is placed by some between 4 and 8 million years ago, that is, during the Late Miocene. In the Iberian Peninsula, the diversity of grazers increased while the diversity of browsers decline concomitantly with increasing aridity. Felids and canids also increased their diversity in this region at this time.

References

External links GeoWhen Database - Late Miocene

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Late Miocene

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Late Miocene claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Late Miocene before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Late Miocene ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Late Miocene

In research: Late Miocene appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Late Miocene in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Late Miocene is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Geochronology stubs, Messinian, Miocene, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Late Miocene outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Late Miocene in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Late Miocene means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Late Miocene out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Late Miocene in simple terms?

The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch made up of two stages: the Tortonian and Messinian. It lasted from 11.63 Ma (million years ago) to 5.333 Ma.

Why does Late Miocene matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Late Miocene?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Late Miocene.