Best Miocene
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Ardi, catalogued as ARA-VP-6/500, is a partial skeleton of Ardipithecus ramidus from the Afar region of Ethiopia. The remains are about 4.4 million years old, were discovered in the 1990s, and were presented in a major scientific description in 2009. Ardi combines adaptations for climbing with anato...
Otodus megalodon was a giant extinct lamniform shark that lived from the Miocene into the Pliocene, roughly 23 to 3.6 million years ago. It is known mainly from very large teeth and fossilized vertebral centra, so estimates of its maximum body length remain uncertain. Its robust, serrated teeth indi...
Sahelanthropus tchadensis is an extinct primate known from late Miocene fossils discovered in Chad, including a distorted but relatively complete cranium nicknamed Toumai. The remains are approximately 6 to 7 million years old and combine a small braincase with reduced canine teeth and facial featur...
Livyatan melvillei is an extinct species of physeteroid whale, a relative of the modern sperm whale, that lived during the Miocene epoch, approximately 12 to 13 million years ago. Its fossilized remains, including an exceptionally large skull, were discovered in the Pisco Formation of Peru. The whal...
Proconsul africanus is an extinct primate from the Early Miocene of East Africa, known particularly from fossils found on Rusinga Island in Kenya. It combined an ape-like absence of an external tail with limb and trunk features suited to movement along the tops of branches rather than the suspensory...
The Nördlingen Ries is a prominent impact crater located in Bavaria, Germany. Formed approximately 14 million years ago during the Miocene epoch, it represents a significant geological event. Its notable size and well-preserved features provide valuable insights into early Earth impacts and their ef...
Orrorin tugenensis is an extinct primate from the late Miocene, known from fossils discovered in Kenya's Tugen Hills and dated to about six million years ago. The specimen catalogued as BAR 1000'00 is among the material associated with the species. Features of the femur have been interpreted as evid...
Peter Andrews is a British paleoanthropologist noted for research on fossil apes, primate evolution, and how animal remains accumulate at fossil sites.
The Great Meteor Guyot is a Miocene-era guyot, a tablemount volcanic formation found in the northeast Atlantic Ocean, specifically within the Canary region. It represents one of the largest seamounts in the Atlantic and has been extensively studied by oceanographers due to its unique geological feat...
Madelaine Böhme is a German paleontologist and University of Tübingen professor noted for research on European ape fossils and ancient climates.
Carcharodon hastalis is an extinct mackerel shark named by Agassiz in 1843 and often treated as part of the great white shark lineage.
Enaliarctos mealsi was a seal fossil discovered in Miocene North Pacific waters. This early pinniped represents one of the first known examples of the phocidae family, possessing characteristics resembling otters alongside developing marine adaptations. The specimen is significant for researchers st...
Gomphotaria pugnax was a unique seal species existing during the Miocene period in California. This odobenidae fossil is notable for its unusually large, downward-curving tusks—a feature rarely seen in seals. These dual-tusked animals likely used their tusks to forage along the seafloor. Gomphotaria...
Phorusrhacus longissimus, a Miocene terror bird from Argentina standing roughly 2.5 meters tall, was the apex terrestrial predator of its South American ecosystem and is the type genus of the family Phorusrhacidae.
The Carrizo Badlands are an expanse of deeply eroded sedimentary terrain in and around the southern portion of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California. Folded and faulted layers, dry washes, mud hills, and narrow canyons record the tectonic development of the Salton Trough. Fossil-bearing Pliocen...
Otodus chubutensis is a megatooth shark from the late Oligocene to middle Miocene, named in 1901 and closely related to megalodon.
Argentavis magnificens, a giant Miocene teratornis described from Argentina in 1980, had an estimated wingspan of roughly 6–7 meters and a mass near 70 kg, placing it among the largest volant birds known from the fossil record.
David R. Begun is a Canadian paleoanthropologist noted for studies of Miocene apes and the evolutionary origins of the African apes and humans.
Cosmopolitodus hastalis is a debated name for the broad-toothed mako, a worldwide Oligocene to Pleistocene shark linked to great white ancestry.
Stupendemys geographicus is an extinct giant freshwater turtle from Miocene and Pliocene deposits in northern South America, including Venezuela and Colombia. Large individuals had a carapace approaching three meters in length, placing the genus among the largest turtles known from the fossil record...
Pontolis magnus is an extinct species of prehistoric walrus known for its large size. This marine mammal lived during the Late Miocene epoch, inhabiting the coastal waters of the North Pacific region. Paleontologists originally described the species from fossilized remains discovered in Oregon. It p...
Pelagornis sandersi was a very large extinct seabird described in 2014 from a fossil specimen discovered near Charleston, South Carolina. Estimates place its wingspan at roughly 6 to 7 meters, putting it among the largest flying birds known from the fossil record. Like other pelagornithids, it posse...
Steinheim is a meteorite impact crater located in the Swabian Alps of southwestern Germany. It measures approximately 3.8 kilometers in diameter and was formed about 15 million years ago during the Miocene epoch. The impact event is closely associated with the larger, nearby Ries crater, and both st...
Pelagiarctos thomasi is an extinct species of macropredatory marine mammal closely related to modern walruses, living during the Middle Miocene epoch. Its fossilized remains were primarily discovered in the Sharktooth Hill bonebed in California, a site famous for its rich marine deposits. Unlike mod...
Eickwortapis dominicana is an extinct species of sweat bee belonging to the Halictidae family, first described by entomologist Michael S. Engel in 2001. The insect is exclusively known from fossils found in Miocene-aged Dominican amber, which preserves organisms in hardened tree resin. It was named...
Enaliarctos emlongi is an extinct species of pinniped known from Miocene deposits along the Oregon coast. It belongs to Enaliarctidae, a family considered close to the ancestry of modern seals, sea lions, and walruses. Unlike later pinnipeds, it retained well-developed hind limbs capable of supporti...
Dusignathus seftoni is an extinct walrus relative known from Miocene marine deposits in California. Unlike living walruses, it possessed enlarged canine teeth in both the upper and lower jaws, producing the double-tusked appearance associated with dusignathine walruses. Its fossils are studied as ev...
Allodesmus kernensis is an extinct species of pinniped that lived during the Middle Miocene epoch, with fossils primarily discovered in the Sharktooth Hill Bonebed of California. It belonged to the extinct family Desmatophocidae and is notable for its remarkably large eye sockets, which suggest it p...
Imagotaria downsi is an extinct species of marine mammal belonging to the family Odobenidae, which includes modern walruses. It lived during the late Miocene epoch along the coast of what is now California. Unlike its modern relatives, Imagotaria lacked the characteristic elongated tusks and had a s...
Neocorynura electra is an extinct species of sweat bee belonging to the family Halictidae. The species was formally described in 1996 by the entomologist Michael S. Engel, based on a fossil specimen preserved in ancient Dominican amber. Fossils in this amber date back to the Miocene epoch, providing...
