The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5 million to 2 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch. Both marine and continental faunas were essentially modern, although continental faunas were a bit more primitive than today. The first recognizable hominins, the australopithecines, appeared in the Pliocene. Herbivores got bigger, as did specialized predators. The Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary contains 121,240 articles, 7,800 images, and 235 maps. Published in Imperial Russia in 1890-1907, the comprehensive encyclopedia was a joint venture of Leipzig and St Petersburg publishers. Originally captioned: Illustration from Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (1890-1907).