Messinian

Messina ( , ; ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 217,033 inhabitants in the city proper and 595,948 in the metropolitan city as of 2025. It is located near the northeast corner of Sicily, at the Strait of Messina and it is an important access terminal to Calabria region, Villa San Giovanni, Reggio Calabria on the mainland.

desiccation of the Mediterranean Sea during the end of the Messinian Age

The Messinian is in the geologic timescale the last age or uppermost stage of the Miocene. It spans the time between 7.246 ± 0.005 Ma and 5.333 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago). It follows the Tortonian and is followed by the Zanclean, the first age of the Pliocene.

theoretical refilling of the Mediterranean Sea between the Miocene and Pliocene Epochs

species of mammal (fossil)

species of fish

ice age of the last 34 million years, in particular in Antarctica

The sill separating the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean

Third and final subseries and subepoch of the Miocene Epoch