The Early Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages.
The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 Ma to 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma. It was preceded by the Oligocene epoch. As the climate started to get cooler, the landscape started to change. New mammals evolved to replace the extinct animals of the Oligocene epoch.
