Violet: Extent of the Alpine ice sheet in the Würm glaciation. Blue: Extent in earlier ice ages.
The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as the Upper Pleistocene from a stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of the Pleistocene Epoch within the ongoing Quaternary Period. It is currently defined as the time between c. 129,000 and c. 11,700 years ago. The late Pleistocene equates to the proposed Tarantian Age of the geologic time scale, preceded by the officially ratified Chibanian (commonly known as the Middle Pleistocene).[1] The beginning of the Late Pleistocene is the transition between the end of the Penultimate Glacial Period and the beginning of the Last Interglacial around 130,000 years ago (corresponding with the beginning of Marine Isotope Stage 5).[5] The Late Pleistocene ends with the termination of the Younger Dryas, some 11,700 years ago when the Holocene Epoch began.[2]
The term Upper Pleistocene is currently in use as a provisional or "quasi-formal" designation by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). Although the three oldest ages of the Pleistocene (the Gelasian, the Calabrian and the Chibanian) have been officially defined, the late Pleistocene has yet to be formally defined.[6]
Following the brief Last Interglacial warm period (~130-115,000 years ago), where temperatures were comparable to or warmer than the Holocene, the Late Pleistocene was dominated by the cool Last Glacial Period, with temperatures graduate lowering throughout the period, reaching their lowest during the Last Glacial Maximum around 26-20,000 years ago.
Most of the world's large (megafaunal) animals became extinct during the Late Pleistocene as part of the Late Pleistocene extinctions, a trend that continued into the Holocene. In palaeoanthropology, the late Pleistocene contains the Upper Palaeolithic stage of human development, including the early human migrations of modern humans outside of Africa, and the extinction of all archaic human species.
^ abCohen, K. M.; Finney, S. C.; Gibbard, P. L.; Fan, J.-X. (January 2020). "International Chronostratigraphic Chart" (PDF). International Commission on Stratigraphy. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
^ abMike Walker; et al. (December 2018). "Formal ratification of the subdivision of the Holocene Series/Epoch (Quaternary System/Period)" (PDF). Episodes. 41 (4). Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS): 213–223. doi:10.18814/epiiugs/2018/018016. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
^Walker, Mike; Head, Martin J.; Berkelhammer, Max; Björck, Svante; Cheng, Hai; Cwynar, Les; Fisher, David; Gkinis, Vasilios; Long, Anthony; Lowe, John; Newnham, Rewi; Rasmussen, Sune Olander; Weiss, Harvey (1 December 2018). "Formal ratification of the subdivision of the Holocene Series/ Epoch (Quaternary System/Period): two new Global Boundary Stratotype Sections and Points (GSSPs) and three new stages/subseries" (PDF). Episodes. 41 (4): 213–223. doi:10.18814/epiiugs/2018/018016. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
^Head, Martin J. (17 May 2019). "Formal subdivision of the Quaternary System/Period: Present status and future directions". Quaternary International. 500: 32–51. Bibcode:2019QuInt.500...32H. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2019.05.018. S2CID 182783922.
^P. L. Gibbard (2015). "The Quaternary System/Period and its major subdivisions". Russian Geology and Geophysics. 56 (4): 686–688. Bibcode:2015RuGG...56..686G. doi:10.1016/j.rgg.2015.03.015.
The LatePleistocene is an unofficial age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as the Upper Pleistocene from a stratigraphic...
The LatePleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene saw numerous extinctions of predominantly megafaunal (typically defined as having body masses over...
The Pleistocene (/ˈplaɪstəˌsiːn, -stoʊ-/ PLY-stə-seen, -stoh-; often referred to colloquially as the Ice Age) is the geological epoch that lasted from...
Panthera leo fossilis Diedrich, C. G. (2014). "Palaeopopulations of LatePleistocene Top Predators in Europe: Ice Age Spotted Hyenas and Steppe Lions in...
The Pleistocene wolf, also referred to as the LatePleistocene wolf, is an extinct lineage or ecomorph of the grey wolf (Canis lupus). It was a Late Pleistocene...
These proposed ages are unofficially termed the Middle Pleistocene and LatePleistocene respectively. The Chibanian provisionally spans time from 773 ka to...
modern grey wolf being the dog's nearest living relative. An extinct LatePleistocene wolf may have been the ancestor of the dog. The dog is a wolf-like...
subspecies of coyote that lived in western North America during the LatePleistocene era. Most remains of the subspecies were found in southern California...
three lowest ages of the Pleistocene, the Gelasian, Calabrian and Chibanian have been officially defined, the LatePleistocene has yet to be formally defined...
significant effect on the Thames drainage system. However, in the Late Pliocene and early Pleistocene periods (c.3-2 million years ago), the London Basin became...
supervolcano eruption that occurred about 74,000 years ago during the LatePleistocene at the site of present-day Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia. It is one...
Pleistocene Park (Russian: Плейстоценовый парк, romanized: Pleystotsenovyy park) is a nature reserve on the Kolyma River south of Chersky in the Sakha...
by Andrei L. Chepalyga for the Late Quaternary sea level rise of the Black Sea. The hypothesis for a LatePleistocene Great Flood argues that brackish...
North America, but became extinct in the region at the end of the LatePleistocene, around 12,000 years ago. There are four widely recognized extant species...
(2004). Ice Age Southern Andes. pp. 25–29. García, Juan L. (2012). "LatePleistocene ice fluctuations and glacial geomorphology of the Archipiélago de Chiloé...
138-155. Eric Buffetaut, Delphine Angst. "A Giant Ostrich from the Lower Pleistocene Nihewan Formation of North China, with a Review of the Fossil Ostriches...
lived in LatePleistocene North America until around 10,000 years ago. Bison antiquus was one of the most common large herbivores in LatePleistocene North...
were present across Asia as far east as China and Mongolia during the LatePleistocene and possibly into the Holocene. The genus Struthio was first described...
including various species of dwarf elephants that evolved during the Pleistocene epoch, as well as more ancient examples, such as the dinosaurs Europasaurus...
becoming increasingly covered by an ice sheet in late Pliocene (2.9-2.58 Ma ago) During the Pleistocene Epoch (starting 2.58 Ma ago), the Quaternary glaciation...
meschtscheriensis (Late Pleistocene of Soungir, Russia) Gallus georgicus (LatePleistocene - Early Holocene of Georgia) Gallus sp. (LatePleistocene of Krivtcha Cave...
Late Quaternary prehistoric birds are avian taxa that became extinct during the Late Quaternary – the LatePleistocene or Early Holocene – and before recorded...
Megatherium became extinct around 12,000 years ago as part of the LatePleistocene megafauna extinctions, simultaneously with the majority of other large...
the Early Pleistocene of the Eastern United States, whereas A. simus had a broader range, with most finds being from the LatePleistocene of the United...
Europe, but became extinct in the region at around the end of the LatePleistocene-early Holocene. The leopard is adapted to a variety of habitats ranging...
lamarmorai on Sardinia (late Middle-LatePleistocene), Mammuthus exilis on the Channel Islands of California (LatePleistocene), and Mammuthus creticus...
However, they had larger molars which are reminiscent of Middle to LatePleistocene archaic humans and australopithecines. Denisovans apparently interbred...
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