El quaternary period has several geological divisions. Today we are going to focus on the first division of this period. It is the Pleistocene. This geological division was characterized mainly by having low temperatures throughout the planet and the appearance of large mammals such as the mammoth. To fully understand everything that the temporal study of this geological division entails, it is necessary to know correctly what the geological time.
In this article we are going to tell you everything you need to know about the Pleistocene.
Key features
This time is a reference since the evolution of the human species is studied. During the Pleistocene It was when the first ancestors of modern man appeared. It is one of the most studied geological divisions and the one with the most fossil records. This guarantees that the information obtained is quite comprehensive and reliable.
The Pleistocene began about 2.6 million years ago and ended at the end of the last ice age that occurred in 10.000 BC During this time there have hardly been any great movements of the continents. It has practically remained in the same position.
As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, this entire geological division has been characterized mainly by having low temperatures globally. This has led to the succession of glacial cycles in which temperatures have been increasing and decreasing. This is known as the interglacial periods. Approximately 30% of the entire planet's surface was perennially covered with ice during this time. The areas that remained continuously frozen were the poles.
As for the fauna, the great mammals such as the mammoth, the mastodons and the megatherium lived their maximum splendor. These animals practically dominated the planet for being large. There was also a development of the ancestors of modern man who were the Homo erectus, Homo habilis, and Homo neanderthalensis. You can find out more about the Homo neanderthalensis and its evolution during this stage. In addition, you can delve deeper into the Pleistocene fauna.
Pleistocene geology
During this division there was not much geological activity. The continental drift It seems that it will be slowed down compared to previous times. Just the tectonic plates on which the continents sit has not refused to move more than about 100 kilometers from each other. Practically at this time the continents were already in a position very similar to the one we have today.
Ice ages were very abundant during this period, and several notable cycles of increase and decrease in the planet's temperature persisted. This caused several southern regions to become completely covered in ice. As a result of the ice ages, the surface of the continents was affected by an erosive process. This is what is known as glacier modelingIt is important to understand how this glacial modeling affected the landscape in the boreal forest and the glacialism.
Also sea level decreased significantly by approximately 100 meters. This is due to the formation of ice during the glaciations and the climatic changes that occurred. To better understand this aspect, you can read about the major climate changes throughout the history of the Earth.
Pleistocene climate
During this geological stage, what is known as the ice AgeThis is incorrect, since during the Pleistocene, a series of ice ages occurred, with periods of higher ambient temperatures and others of lower temperatures. The climate's ambient temperatures fluctuated throughout the entire period, although temperatures they did not rise as much as in other periods of Earth's geology.
The climatic conditions are practically a continuation of the earlier Pliocene epoch. At this stage, the planet's temperatures dropped significantly. Stripes of land closer to the poles were observed, and during this stage Antarctica remained almost entirely covered in ice from the northern extremes of the American and European continents during the glaciation stages.
Throughout the entire Pleistocene stage there were 4 glaciations. To learn more about the region's climate, you can check out the Antarctica weather and how this influenced the Pleistocene.
Flora, fauna and human beings
During this stage, life was quite diverse despite all the climatic limitations that existed due to the glaciations. During the Pleistocene, there were several types of biomes. In each type of biome, the plants that were best able to adapt to the most extreme environments developed. The tundra biome we know today developed in the northern hemisphere of the planet, within the Arctic Circle. The main characteristics of the tundra are: the plants are small, there are no leafy trees or large ones. In this type of ecosystems, lichens are abundant.
The taiga is also another biome that was observed during the Pleistocene. The taiga consists mainly of a vegetal form where they predominate coniferous trees and sometimes reach great heights. According to information extracted from the fossil record, lichens, mosses, and some ferns were also present in these biomes. Thus, the Pleistocene flora was highly diverse, adapting to the climatic conditions. You can learn more about the .
Within the continents, temperatures were not as low, allowing large plants to develop and forming vast forests. This is where thermophilic plants began to emerge. These plants exhibit adaptations necessary to survive extreme temperatures.
In terms of fauna, mammals were the most dominant group. One of the highlights of this fauna is that it is known as megafauna. That is, the predominant fauna was large and fully capable of withstanding the low temperatures that existed at that time.
In addition, other animal groups continued to increase their diversity and evolution to adapt to new environments. These animals include birds, amphibians, and reptiles. The mammoth was the most interesting mammal of this time. These animals were quite similar in appearance to the elephants we know today. They had long, sharp tusks, their main characteristic being the upward curvature. Depending on the area and temperature, they were covered in varying degrees of fur and had herbivorous eating habits.
Also, as for the human being, most of the ancestor species of the Homo sapiens But this one also made its appearance. Its main characteristic was that it reached the maximum development of its brain. For more information, you can consult the article on the Homo erectus.
