The Pliocene is a geologic epoch of the Neogene Period, spanning approximately 5.33 to 2.58 million years ago, immediately following the Miocene and preceding the Pleistocene. It is characterized by continued global cooling and aridification, progressive closure of seaways such as the Isthmus of Panama, and consequent reorganization of ocean circulation and climate systems. The Pliocene saw expansion of grasslands, diversification and radiation of grazing mammals, and important evolutionary developments within the hominin lineage. It serves as a key interval for studying climate dynamics, including high-CO₂ warm states and polar amplification, often used as an analog for near-future climate scenarios in paleoclimatology and Earth system modeling.
More than 3 million years ago, when our ancient ancestors embodied by the iconic Lucy were roaming the African landscape, they would have feared a big, bad crocodile with a prominent lump on its head, patiently lurking in ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 12, 2026
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Researchers have identified a "tipping point" about 2.7 million years ago when global climate conditions switched from being relatively warm and stable to cold and chaotic, as continental ice sheets expanded in the Northern ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 19, 2026
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In a paper published in Nature, a team led by University of Chicago paleoanthropologist Professor Zeresenay Alemseged reports the discovery of the first Paranthropus specimen from the Afar region of Ethiopia, 1,000 km north ...
Evolution
Jan 21, 2026
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139
With the help of newly identified bones, an enigmatic 3.4-million-year-old hominin foot found in 2009, is assigned to a species different from that of the famous fossil Lucy providing further proof that two ancient species ...
Evolution
Nov 26, 2025
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113
Ursus minimus—presumed to be the common ancestor of most modern bear species—lived in Europe between approximately 4.9 million and 1.8 million years ago, during the Pliocene epoch and possibly into the early Pleistocene. ...
Ecology
Sep 17, 2025
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102
A team of researchers has identified and described Vulcanoscaptor ninoti ("the Camp dels Ninots volcano digger"), a previously unknown genus and species of Pliocene mole. The fossil was unearthed at the Camp dels Ninots paleontological ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Jul 15, 2025
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