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SPEC'S MIOCENE EPOCH (c.24,000,000 - 5,000,000 bp)
The longest epoch of the Cenozoic bore witness to great changes in the geography and biota
of the planet. As the wandering landmass of India finally collided with the Asian mainland,
an event which spawned the highest mountains in the world, the Americas pushed westwards
against the Pacific Plate, creating up the Rockies and the Andes. As Africa drew ever closer
to Europe, it sounded the death knell for the ancient Tethys Sea. Cut off from neighbouring
oceans, this once great ocean quickly evaporated into a vast dry salt-encrusted basin.
While the Atlantic ultimately broke through the straights of Gibraltar and gave rise to the
Mediterranean, the land link between Africa and Eurasia was to remain unbroken to the present day.
Life in the seas was rich and varied. Giant predatory saurocetes and sharks prowled the tropics.
while large swimming birds taking advantage of the rich polar waters. At several points during the Miocene,
the the seas experienced sharp drops in temperature, accompanied by an expansion of the Antarctic ice
sheet. However, these episodes were not severe enough to trigger anything more that mild, localised
extinctions at sea or on land.
Archaeopristrix
Vegetation on the land was lush and vibrant. Dense forests thrived across the globe. As more water was
trapped at the poles,however, open grasslands and savannah spread rapidly, bringing about the evolution
of some new clades while restricting and decimating others.
For life in the northern hemisphere, it was time of tremendous inter-continental migration and expansion.
Africa, Eurasia, and North America were united, allowing free passage to wandering dinosaurs. At the start of
the Miocene, the dominant Eurasian herbivores were the few euroloph families that had survived the
Haughton impact. These natives were, however, soon locked in a losing ecological battle against successive
waves of invading duckbills from neighbouring continents. Predatory dinosaurs
also marched across the land bridges, the scaly African priscataurs rampaged
across tropical Asia while Eurasian deinonychosaurs moved into Africa.
Rhinolophosaurus
Tricerolophus
"Microsegnosaurus"
While Africa and the North experienced a mixing of faunas, the rest of the world was a
study in isolation. Australia and South America remained worlds apart from any other landmass,
surrounded by oceans on all sides. Both continents were enjoying a boom in ornithopod
evolution that gave rise to a host weird endemic forms, from giant pseudosauropods
to vicious rhynchoraptors. Australia began to lose much of its ancient rainforests as it
charged northwards into drier latitudes.
Wabulasaurus
Teratodon
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