Color enhanced illustration of a Miocene landscape. The Miocene epoch preceded the Pliocene and dated to between 25 million and 5 million years ago. The earth went from the Oligocene Epoch through the Miocene and into the Pliocene as it cooled into a series of Ice Ages. The Miocene boundaries are not marked by a single distinct global event but consist rather of regional boundaries between the warmer Oligocene and the cooler Pliocene. The plants and animals of the Miocene were fairly modern. Mammals and birds were well-established. Whales, seals, and kelp spread. It was during the late Miocene that the earliest hominid species begin to appear in the fossil record. Illustration originally captioned: Miocene landscape by Franz Unger, 1916. This image has been color enhanced.