Miocene Epoch

24 million to 5 million years ago

While much of the Northern Hemisphere was becoming cooler, the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico protected Florida. Still, Florida’s climate became increasingly drier and more seasonal, particularly during the late Miocene.

Shallow water marine habitats supported thousands of species of marine animals and plants. Life on land was becoming increasingly more abundant. The spread of grassland savannas with mixed woodlands offered a wide range of plant foods for grazing and browsing mammals. Florida had giant tortoises, giant sloths, elephant-like proboscideans, tapirs, camels, horses, rhinos and of course, predators like bear-dogs and saber-toothed false cats.

Video produced, directed and filmed for the Florida Museum of Natural History by Wes C. Skiles/Karst Productions, Inc.

Transcript

This was a time of monumental changes on Earth. Colliding continental plates gave birth to some of the world’s great mountain ranges. A time where shifting climates and sea levels changed the composition and distribution of life on Earth. This is the Miocene epoch, 24 to 5 million years ago.

Now cooler, drier and more seasonal, the once lush wet forest disappeared and were replaced by grassland savannas with mixed woodlands. These habitats provided new food sources for mammals and they evolved into more specialized forms. Paleontologists learn about the diversity of the Miocene by looking at sediments that have been deposited in ancient sinkholes. Many of these sediments represent clays and silts that were washed down from the Appalachian highlands.

At Thomas Farm in nearby Gilchrist County, scientists study one of Florida’s most important paleontological sites. Found within this ancient sink is a treasure trove of fossils that have shaped our knowledge of this epoch. Bear dogs, small three-toed horses, and this alligator being excavated, document the diversity of now extinct species that roamed Florida’s primitive landscape. Marine shell beds verify the diversity of Florida’s marine life with nearly a thousand invertebrate species having been collected and identified by Museum scientists. In fact, fossil shells from many of Florida’s epochs are prized by collectors because of their amazing preservation, some even with color patterns which become visible under an ultra-violet light. Giant, 60-feet-long Megalodon sharks, some of the largest and most fearsome predators to have inhabited the earth, ate large whales.

Fossils of giant tortoises, saber-toothed carnivores, horses, camels, rhinoceroses, and even elephant-like creatures have also been found in Florida. During some of the Miocene, where you are standing was beach front property. Fossils collected from local spots like Hogtown Creek help illuminate the record of both land and sea life. The Miocene Epoch in Florida marks the arrival of the great megafauna land dwellers, and sets the stage for tumultuous changes to come. Take a look around and immerse yourself in the great diversity of life that existed here in Florida during the Miocene Epoch.

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