Crossword clues for oligocene
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Oligocene \Ol"i*go*cene\, a. [Oligo- + Gr. ? new, recent.] (Geol.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, certain strata which occupy an intermediate position between the Eocene and Miocene periods. -- n. The Oligocene period. See the Chart of Geology.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1856, "pertaining to the Tertiary period between the Eocene and the Miocene," coined in German (1854) by Heinrich Ernst von Beyrich, from oligo- "small, little, few" + -cene. So called because few modern fossils were found in Oligocene rocks.
Wikipedia
The Oligocene (; symbol O) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the epoch are slightly uncertain. The name Oligocene comes from the Greek (oligos, few) and (kainos, new), and refers to the sparsity of extant forms of molluscs. The Oligocene is preceded by the Eocene Epoch and is followed by the Miocene Epoch. The Oligocene is the third and final epoch of the Paleogene Period.
The Oligocene is often considered an important time of transition, a link between the archaic world of the tropical Eocene and the more modern ecosystems of the Miocene. Major changes during the Oligocene included a global expansion of grasslands, and a regression of tropical broad leaf forests to the equatorial belt.
The start of the Oligocene is marked by a notable extinction event called the Grande Coupure; it featured the replacement of European fauna with Asian fauna, except for the endemic rodent and marsupial families. By contrast, the Oligocene–Miocene boundary is not set at an easily identified worldwide event but rather at regional boundaries between the warmer late Oligocene and the relatively cooler Miocene.
Usage examples of "oligocene".
We have made detailed comparisons between the microchemical processes of such ancestral Oligocene ancestors recovered from the ship and known data relating to animals that exist today and are descended from those same ancestors.
The Silurian period follows the Ordovician, and the Miocene epoch follows the Oligocene as surely as Wednesday follows Tuesday.
Out on safari in the Early Oligocene after titanothere while I run the office.
This same enzyme is found in many different and nonrelated Oligocene species.
The Oligocene animals all contain the same genetic coding elements, but in their case there is a difference.
Finally, VIII and IX, the Oligocene and Miocene Epochs of the Tertiary Period, mark the emergence of man's earliest ancestors.