Editing Pliocene (section)

==Fauna==
{{unreferenced section|date=August 2017}}
Both marine and continental faunas were essentially modern, although continental faunas were a bit more primitive than today.

The land mass collisions meant great migration and mixing of previously isolated species, such as in the [[Great American Interchange]]. [[Herbivores]] got bigger, as did specialized predators.

===Image gallery===
<gallery>
Oliva sayana.jpg|The [[gastropod]] ''[[Oliva sayana]]'', from the Pliocene of [[Florida]]
Cladocora.jpg|The [[coral]] ''[[Cladocora]]'' from the Pliocene of [[Cyprus]]
CyprusPlioceneGastropod.JPG|A gastropod and attached serpulid wormtube from the Pliocene of Cyprus
Turritellatricarinata.jpg|The gastropod ''[[Turritella]] carinata'' from the Pliocene of Cyprus
SpondylusPliocene.jpg|The thorny [[oyster]] ''[[Spondylus]]'' right and left valve interiors from the Pliocene of Cyprus
Diodoraitalica.jpg|The [[limpet]] ''Diodora italica'' from the Pliocene of Cyprus
DentaliumPliocene.jpg|The [[scaphopod]] ''[[Dentalium (genus)|Dentalium]]'' from the Pliocene of Cyprus
Aporrhais from Pliocene.jpg|The gastropod ''[[Aporrhais]]'' from the Pliocene of Cyprus
AnadaraPliocene.jpg|The arcid bivalve ''[[Anadara]]'' from the Pliocene of Cyprus
Amusium cristatum Cyprus.jpg|The pectenid bivalve ''Ammusium cristatum'' from the Pliocene of Cyprus
Petaloconchus Cyprus Pliocene.JPG|Vermetid gastropod ''[[Petaloconchus intortus]]'' attached to a branch of the [[coral]] ''Cladocora'' from the Pliocene of Cyprus
Chesapecten barnacles Pliocene VA.jpg|''[[Chesapecten]]'', [[barnacles]] and sponge borings (''[[Entobia]]'') from the Pliocene of York River, Virginia
</gallery>

===Mammals===
{{Human timeline}}
[[File:Landscape of the Pliocene epoch - showing environment at the time of men's appearance - drawn by Riou.jpg|thumb|left|Nineteenth-century artist's impression of a Pliocene landscape]]
In North America, [[rodents]], large [[mastodon]]s and [[gomphothere]]s, and [[opossum]]s continued successfully, while hoofed animals ([[ungulate]]s) declined, with [[camel]], [[deer]], and [[horse]] all seeing populations recede. Three-toed horses (''[[Nannippus]]''), [[oreodont]]s, [[protoceratidae|protoceratid]]s, and [[chalicothere]]s became extinct. [[borophaginae|Borophagine dogs]] and ''[[Agriotherium]]'' became extinct, but other [[carnivores]] including the [[weasel]] family diversified, and [[dog]]s and [[Tremarctinae|short-faced bear]]s did well. [[Ground sloth]]s, huge [[glyptodont]]s, and [[armadillo]]s came north with the formation of the Isthmus of Panama. The latitudinal diversity gradient among terrestrial North American mammals became established during this epoch some time after 4 Ma.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Marcot |first1=Jonathan D. |last2=Fox |first2=David L. |last3=Niebuhr |first3=Spencer R. |date=28 June 2016 |title=Late Cenozoic onset of the latitudinal diversity gradient of North American mammals |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]] |language=en |volume=113 |issue=26 |pages=7189–7194 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1524750113 |doi-access=free |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=4932941 |pmid=27298355 |bibcode=2016PNAS..113.7189M }}</ref>

In [[Eurasia]] rodents did well, while [[primate]] distribution declined. [[Elephant]]s, [[gomphothere]]s and [[stegodon]]ts were successful in Asia (the largest land mammals of the Pliocene were such proboscideans as ''[[Deinotherium]]'', ''[[Anancus]]'', and ''[[Mammut|Mammut borsoni]]'',<ref>{{cite book
| url         = https://books.google.com/books?id=DQIjAQAAQBAJ&q=largest+of+pliocene
| title       = Fossils of the Carpathian Region
| publisher   = Indiana University Press
| date        = 2013
| access-date  = 2022-08-23
| page        = 373
| author      = Charles A. Repenning, Richard H. Tedford
| isbn = 9780253009876
}}</ref>) though proboscidean diversity declined significantly during the Late Pliocene.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cantalapiedra |first1=Juan L. |last2=Sanisidro |first2=Óscar |last3=Zhang |first3=Hanwen |last4=Alberdi |first4=María T. |last5=Prado |first5=José L. |last6=Blanco |first6=Fernando |last7=Saarinen |first7=Juha |date=1 July 2021 |title=The rise and fall of proboscidean ecological diversity |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-021-01498-w |journal=[[Nature Ecology & Evolution]] |language=en |volume=5 |issue=9 |pages=1266–1272 |doi=10.1038/s41559-021-01498-w |pmid=34211141 |bibcode=2021NatEE...5.1266C |issn=2397-334X |access-date=6 November 2024|hdl=10261/249360 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> [[Hyrax]]es migrated north from Africa. [[Horse]] diversity declined, while tapirs and rhinos did fairly well. [[Bovinae|Bovines]]  and [[antelope]]s were successful; some camel species crossed into Asia from North America. [[Hyenas]] and early [[saber-toothed cat]]s appeared, joining other predators including dogs, bears, and weasels.
{{Human evolution during the Pliocene}}

Africa was dominated by hoofed animals, and primates continued their evolution, with [[australopithecine]]s (some of the first [[Hominini|hominin]]s) and [[baboon|baboon-like monkeys]] such as the ''[[Dinopithecus]]'' appearing in the late Pliocene. Rodents were successful, and elephant populations increased. Cows and antelopes continued diversification and overtook [[Suidae|pig]]s in numbers of species. Early [[giraffe]]s appeared. Horses and modern rhinos came onto the scene.  Bears, dogs and weasels (originally from North America) joined cats, hyenas and [[civet]]s as the African predators, forcing hyenas to adapt as specialized scavengers. Most mustelids in Africa declined as a result of increased competition from the new predators, although ''[[Enhydriodon|Enhydriodon omoensis]]'' remained an unusually successful terrestrial predator.

South America was invaded by North American species for the first time since the [[Cretaceous]], with North American rodents and primates mixing with southern forms. [[Litoptern]]s and the [[Notoungulata|notoungulate]]s, South American natives, were mostly wiped out, except for the [[macraucheniidae|macrauchenids]] and [[toxodontidae|toxodonts]], which managed to survive. Small weasel-like carnivorous [[mustelid]]s, [[coati]]s and [[Arctotherium|short-faced bears]] migrated from the north. Grazing [[glyptodont]]s, browsing [[giant ground sloth]]s and smaller [[Caviomorpha|caviomorph rodents]], [[Holmesina|pampathere]]s, and [[armadillos]] did the opposite, migrating to the north and thriving there.

The [[marsupial]]s remained the dominant Australian mammals, with herbivore forms including [[wombat]]s and [[kangaroo]]s, and the huge ''[[Diprotodon]]''. Carnivorous marsupials continued hunting in the Pliocene, including [[dasyurid]]s, the dog-like [[thylacine]] and cat-like ''[[Thylacoleo]]''. The first rodents arrived in Australia. The modern [[platypus]], a [[monotreme]], appeared.

===Birds===
[[Image:Titanis07DB.jpg|thumb|100px|right|''Titanis'']]
The predatory South American [[phorusrhacids]] were rare in this time; among the last was ''[[Titanis]]'', a large phorusrhacid that migrated to North America and rivaled mammals as top predator. Other birds probably evolved at this time, some modern (such as the genera ''[[Cygnus (genus)|Cygnus]]'', ''[[Bubo (bird)|Bubo]]'', ''[[Struthio]]'' and ''[[Corvus]]''), some now extinct.

===Reptiles and amphibians===
[[Alligator]]s and [[crocodile]]s died out in Europe as the climate cooled. [[Venomous snake]] genera continued to increase as more rodents and birds evolved. [[Rattlesnake]]s first appeared in the Pliocene. The modern species ''[[Alligator mississippiensis]]'', having evolved in the Miocene, continued into the Pliocene, except with a more northern range; specimens have been found in very late Miocene deposits of [[Tennessee]]. [[Giant tortoise]]s still thrived in North America, with genera like ''[[Hesperotestudo]]''. [[madtsoiidae|Madtsoid]] [[snake]]s were still present in Australia. The amphibian order [[Albanerpetontidae|Allocaudata]] became extinct.

=== Bivalves ===
In the Western Atlantic, assemblages of [[Bivalvia|bivalves]] exhibited remarkable stasis with regards to their [[basal metabolic rate]]s throughout the various climatic changes of the Pliocene.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Strotz |first1=Luke C. |last2=Saupe |first2=Erin E. |last3=Kimmig |first3=Julien |last4=Lieberman |first4=Bruce S. |date=29 August 2018 |title=Metabolic rates, climate and macroevolution: a case study using Neogene molluscs |journal=[[Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences]] |language=en |volume=285 |issue=1885 |pages=20181292 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2018.1292 |issn=0962-8452 |pmc=6125889 |pmid=30135165 }}</ref>

===Corals===
The Pliocene was a high water mark for species diversity among Caribbean corals. From 5 to 2 Ma, coral species origination rates were relatively high in the Caribbean, although a noticeable extinction event and drop in diversity occurred at the end of this interval.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Budd |first1=A. F. |date=April 2000 |title=Diversity and extinction in the Cenozoic history of Caribbean reefs |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s003380050222?error=cookies_not_supported&code=86ac2aed-a145-47b1-a3a5-bccca38fb336 |journal=[[Coral Reefs]] |volume=19 |pages=25–35 |doi=10.1007/s003380050222 |s2cid=1062406 |access-date=10 May 2023}}</ref>