The name Oligocene comes from the Ancient Greek ὀλίγος (oligos, "few") and καινός (kainos, "new"), and refers to the sparsity of extant forms of molluscs.

Fossil Record

Data via PaleoBioDB

Taxa Count Key

First appearance

Extinction

First appearance and extinction

Related precursors

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Taxa Count
Animalia	Annelida	Clitellata	4
Animalia	Annelida	Polychaeta	43
Animalia	Arthropoda	Arachnida	431
Animalia	Arthropoda	Branchiopoda	11
Animalia	Arthropoda	Cephalocarida	1
Animalia	Arthropoda	Chilopoda	18
Animalia	Arthropoda	Diplopoda	30
Animalia	Arthropoda	Entognatha	3
Animalia	Arthropoda	Insecta	4,274
Animalia	Arthropoda	Malacostraca	801
Animalia	Arthropoda	Maxillopoda	64
Animalia	Arthropoda	Merostomata	1
Animalia	Arthropoda	Ostracoda	248
Animalia	Arthropoda	Pauropoda	3
Animalia	Arthropoda	Pycnogonida	1
Animalia	Arthropoda	Remipedia	1
Animalia	Arthropoda	Symphyla	6
Animalia	Brachiopoda	Craniata	8
Animalia	Brachiopoda	Lingulata	13
Animalia	Brachiopoda	Rhynchonellata	171
Animalia	Brachiopoda	Strophomenata	7
Animalia	Bryozoa	Gymnolaemata	600
Animalia	Bryozoa	Phylactolaemata	1
Animalia	Bryozoa	Stenolaemata	84
Animalia	Chordata	Actinopterygii	209
Animalia	Chordata	Amphibia	23
Animalia	Chordata	Ascidiacea	1
Animalia	Chordata	Aves	278
Animalia	Chordata	Cephalaspidomorphi	1
Animalia	Chordata	Elasmobranchii	183
Animalia	Chordata	Holocephali	3
Animalia	Chordata	Mammalia	4,175
Animalia	Chordata	Myxini	1
Animalia	Chordata	Reptilia	575
Animalia	Chordata	Sarcopterygii	5
Animalia	Cnidaria	Anthozoa	750
Animalia	Cnidaria	Cubozoa	1
Animalia	Cnidaria	Hydrozoa	21
Animalia	Cnidaria	Scyphozoa	2
Animalia	Echinodermata	Asteroidea	59
Animalia	Echinodermata	Crinoidea	38
Animalia	Echinodermata	Echinoidea	381
Animalia	Echinodermata	Holothuroidea	55
Animalia	Echinodermata	Ophiuroidea	47
Animalia	Hemichordata	Enteropneusta	4
Animalia	Hemichordata	Pterobranchia	2
Animalia	Mollusca	Bivalvia	1,466
Animalia	Mollusca	Cephalopoda	36
Animalia	Mollusca	Gastropoda	2,459
Animalia	Mollusca	Monoplacophora	1
Animalia	Mollusca	Polyplacophora	26
Animalia	Mollusca	Scaphopoda	44
Animalia	Nematoda	Adenophorea	3
Animalia	Nematoda	Secernentea	2
Animalia	Platyhelminthes	Trematoda	1
Animalia	Porifera	Calcarea	5
Animalia	Porifera	Demospongiae	19
Animalia	Porifera	Hexactinellida	48
Animalia	Porifera	Homoscleromorpha	1
Animalia	Tardigrada	Eutardigrada	5
Animalia	Tardigrada	Heterotardigrada	1
Bacteria	Cyanobacteria	Cyanophyceae	2
Chromista	Foraminifera	Globothalamea	346
Chromista	Foraminifera	Monothalamea	31
Chromista	Foraminifera	Tubothalamea	67
Chromista	Haptophyta	Prymnesiophyceae	39
Chromista	Myzozoa	Dinophyceae	32
Chromista	Ochrophyta	Bacillariophyceae	82
Chromista	Ochrophyta	Chrysophyceae	1
Chromista	Ochrophyta	Dictyochophyceae	8
Chromista	Ochrophyta	Phaeophyceae	2
Chromista	Radiozoa	Polycystina	181
Fungi	Ascomycota	Eurotiomycetes	1
Fungi	Ascomycota	Sordariomycetes	2
Fungi	Basidiomycota	Agaricomycetes	4
Plantae	Anthocerotophyta	Anthocerotopsida	1
Plantae	Bryophyta	Bryopsida	4
Plantae	Bryophyta	Sphagnopsida	2
Plantae	Charophyta	Charophyceae	8
Plantae	Charophyta	Zygnematophyceae	3
Plantae	Chlorophyta	Chlorophyceae	6
Plantae	Chlorophyta	Trebouxiophyceae	2
Plantae	Chlorophyta	Ulvophyceae	14
Plantae	Marchantiophyta	Jungermanniopsida	1
Plantae	Marchantiophyta	Marchantiopsida	4
Plantae	Rhodophyta	Florideophyceae	74
Plantae	Rhodophyta	Rhodophyceae	1
Plantae	Tracheophyta	Cycadopsida	17
Plantae	Tracheophyta	Ginkgoopsida	6
Plantae	Tracheophyta	Gnetopsida	7
Plantae	Tracheophyta	Liliopsida	83
Plantae	Tracheophyta	Lycopodiopsida	21
Plantae	Tracheophyta	Magnoliopsida	661
Plantae	Tracheophyta	Pinopsida	134
Plantae	Tracheophyta	Polypodiopsida	79
Protozoa	Amoebozoa	Lobosa	1

Warm but cooling climate, moving towards Icehouse; Rapid evolution and diversification of fauna, especially mammals.

Major evolution and dispersal of modern types of flowering plants, a global expansion of grasslands, and a regression of tropical broad leaf forests to the equatorial belt.

Geologic Events

Event Name	Type	Age	Area
Andean orogeny (ongoing)	Orogeny	Maximum Age: 200 Ma	South America

Overview of geological time

List all geological events

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