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:
Read more about this topic: Miocene