Definitions for oligocene
ˈɒl ɪ goʊˌsinoligocene

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Oligocene, Oligocene epochnoun

   from 40 million to 25 million years ago; appearance of sabertoothed cats

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Oligoceneadjective

   Of a geologic epoch within the Paleogene period from about 34 to 23 million years ago; marked by the rapid evolution in a warm climate.

2. Oligocenenoun

   The Oligocene epoch.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. oligocene

   The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period that occurred 33.9 million to 23 million years ago. It is recognized for the abundance of new mammals species. The name Oligocene comes from the Greek "oligos", meaning "few" and "ceno" meaning "new", referring to the relative scarcity of easily fossilizable types of new plant and animal species.

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Oligocene

   The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present. As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly uncertain. The name Oligocene comes from the Greek ὀλίγος and καινός, and refers to the sparsity of additional modern mammalian species of fauna after a burst of evolution during the Eocene. The Oligocene follows 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.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Oligocene

   ol′i-gō-sēn, adj. (geol.) pertaining to a division of the Tertiary series, the rocks chiefly of fresh and brackish water origin, with intercalations of marine beds. [Gr. oligos, little, kainos, new.]

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1. • Epoch

How to pronounce oligocene?

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Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of oligocene in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of oligocene in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of oligocene in a Sentence

1. Robert Boessenecker:

   There are many other unique and strange early dolphins and baleen whales from Oligocene aged rocks in Charleston, South Carolina, because the Oligocene epoch is the time when filter feeding and echolocation first evolved, and since marine mammal localities of that time are scarce worldwide, the fossils from Charleston offer the most complete window into the early evolution of these groups.

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