post-Plioceneadj.n.
/ˌpəʊs(t)ˈplʌɪə(ʊ)siːn/, U.S. /ˌpoʊs(t)ˈplaɪəˌsin/ Geology.
A. adj.
Of, relating to, or designating the period of time subsequent to the Pliocene epoch; formed or occurring subsequent to the Pliocene epoch.Originally used for what is now called the Pleistocene epoch (ending approx. 10,000 years ago); later often extended to cover the whole Quaternary period (which continues to the present).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > age or period > [adjective] > quaternary
quaternary1840
post-Pliocene1841
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > age or period > [adjective] > quaternary > Pleistocene
Pleistocene1839
post-Pliocene1841
1841 C. Lyell Elem. Geol. (ed. 2) I. ix. 212 I have adopted the term Post-Pliocene for those strata which are sometimes called modern, and which are characterized by having all the imbedded fossil shells identical with species now living.
1863 D. Wilson Prehistoric Ann. Scotl. (ed. 2) I. i. ii. 51 Post-pliocene flint implements.
1863 Q. Rev. 114 410 A cold character of climate appears to have extended through a great part of the post-pliocene period.
1879 A. R. Wallace Australasia iv. 64 Recent quaternary or Post-pliocene deposits.
1938 Amer. Antiq. 3 285 There still are many geologists who are inclined, without further ado, to put all important Post-Pliocene gravel deposits in the Pleistocene.
1960 Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. 71 1547 (title) Post-Pliocene uplift of the Sierra Nevada, California.
1997 Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol. 128 207 This is..the first post-Pliocene record of echymids at this latitude.
B. n.
The post-Pliocene period; the series of deposits dating from this time. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > age or period > [noun] > tertiary or Cainozoic > specific
Eocene1831
Pliocene1835
Miocene1842
post-Pliocene1852
Oligocene1856
Palaeocene1877
Palaeogene1882
Lutetian1895
Tortonian1931
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > age or period > stratigraphic units > [noun] > tertiary or Cenozoic > post-Pliocene
post-Pliocene1852
1852 Amer. Jrnl. Sci. 64 49 (title) Post-Pliocene of the Southern States and its relation to the Laurentian of the North and the deposits of the Valley of the Mississippi.
1865 E. B. Tylor Res. Early Hist. Mankind xi. 306 In the post-pliocene of Brazil, remains have been preserved of an extinct ape.
1935 Geogr. Rev. 25 640 The entire northeast of Asia was subjected, during the post-Pliocene, to vertical pulsations common to the whole continent.
2000 Jrnl. Vegetation Sci. 11 265/1 Seeders [i.e. plants that regenerate from seed rather than sprouting after fire] are mainly non-sclerophyllous, anemochorous, dry-fruited, small-seeded species that evolved in the Quaternary (post-Pliocene) and are associated with earlier successional stages.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1841