Meanings
- biologyA geological subdivision, the earliest age of the Pliocene epoch.
Warmer climates and sea level rises did not occur until the early Zanclean Pliocene (4.5 million years).
2003, Edward J. Petuch, Cenozoic Seas: The View From Eastern North America, page 1352 more examples
1881, "A. W. W.", Notices of Memoirs: I.—Tertiary Geology of the Reggiano (Calabria), in Henry Woodward (editor), Geological Magazine, New Series, Decade 2, Volume 8, Trübner & Co., page 324, The Pliocene is found at a much greater elevation than any of the other Tertiary series, reaching in the Zanclean to 1200 mètres above the sea, and as the conditions of deposition were quite different here from those which obtained in north Italy, the series in one part of the peninsula forms a complement to those in the other.
In the first case the Early Pliocene coincides with the Zanclean and its upper boundary with the last occurrence of Globorotalia margaritae (Mazzei et al., 1978).
1989, Silvia Iaccarino, “8: Mediterranean Miocene and Pliocene planktic foraminifera”, in Hans M. Bolli, John B. Saunders, Katharina Perch-Nielsen, editors, Plankton Stratigraphy, Volume 1, Cambridge University Press, page 288
Origin
- Ancient GreekΖάγκλη
- EnglishZanclean
From Ancient Greek Ζάγκλη (Zánklē), the name originally given to the city of Messina, Sicily, by its ancient Greek founders. (Compare Messinian, the preceding age.)
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan Zancleà
- Zancleàearliest age of the Pliocene epoch
Dutch Zanclien
- Zanclienearliest age of the Pliocene epoch
French Zancléen
- Zancléenearliest age of the Pliocene epoch
German Zancleum
- Zancleumearliest age of the Pliocene epoch
Hungarian Zanclai
- Zanclaiearliest age of the Pliocene epoch
Italian Zancleano
- Zancleanoearliest age of the Pliocene epoch
Polish zankl
- zanklearliest age of the Pliocene epoch
Spanish Zanclayense
- Zanclayenseearliest age of the Pliocene epoch
Cite this entry
Zanclean. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Zanclean
“Zanclean.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Zanclean. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Zanclean,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Zanclean.
Source: Zanclean on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.