The Mammal Neogene zones or MN zones are system of
biostratigraphic zones in the stratigraphic record used to correlate
mammal
A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...
-bearing
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...
localities of the
Neogene
The Neogene ( ,) is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period million years ago. It is the second period of th ...
period of
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. It consists of seventeen consecutive zones (numbered MN 1 through MN 18; MN 7 and 8 have been joined into MN 7/8 zone) defined through reference faunas, well-known sites that other localities can be correlated with. MN 1 is the earliest zone, and MN 18 is the most recent. The MN zones are complementary with the
MP zones in the
Paleogene
The Paleogene Period ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Neogene Period Ma. It is the fir ...
.
The zones are as follows:
See also
*
Mammal Paleogene zones
*
European land mammal age
The European Land Mammal Mega Zones (abbreviation: ELMMZ, more commonly known as European land mammal ages or ELMA) are zones in rock layers that have a specific assemblage of fossils ( biozones) based on occurrences of fossil assemblages of Europ ...
*
Geologic time scale
The geologic time scale or geological time scale (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochro ...
References
* Bruijn, H. de, Daams, R., Daxner-Höck, G., Fahlbusch, V., Ginsburg, L., Mein, P. and Morales, J. (1992.) "Report of the RCMNS working group on fossil mammals", Reisensburg 1990. ''Newsletters on Stratigraphy'' 26(2–3):65–118.
* Dam, J. A. van, Alcalá, L., Alonso Zarza, A., Calvo, J. P., Garcés, M. and Krijgsman, W. (2001.) "The Upper Miocene mammal record from the Teruel–Alfambra region (Spain). The MN system and continental stage/age concepts discussed." ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' 21(2):367–385. .
.
.
Neogene Europe
Miocene animals of Europe
Pliocene animals of Europe
Neogene mammals of Europe
Regional geologic time scales
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