Messinian
Proper noun
Meaning
Messinian
(geology, paleontology) The final subdivision of the Miocene epoch.
Examples
Messinian salinity crisis During Mesozoic and Cenozoic times, as the northwest corner of Africa converged on Iberia, it lifted the Betic-Rif mountain belts across southern Iberia and northwest Africa.
The time of beginning of the MSC was recently estimated astronomically at 5.96 mya, and it persisted for some 630,000 years until about 5.3 mya; citation see Animation: Messinian salinity crisis, at right.
The Messinian salinity crisis started about six million years ago (mya) when the Mediterranean became landlocked, and then essentially dried up.