The final stage (7.246–5.332 Ma ago) in the Miocene epoch, preceded by the Tortonian, followed by the Zanclean (Tabianian) (Int. Commission on Stratigraphy, 2004). It is roughly contemporaneous with the upper Mohnian and lower Delmontian (N. America), upper Tongaporutuan and lower Kapitean (New Zealand), and part of the Mitchellian (Australia). The neostratotype is found between Caltanisetta and Enna, Sicily. It is an important stage, marked by the presence of thick evaporite deposits in the Mediterranean. These may indicate that the Straits of Gibraltar were closed approximately 6.5–5.1 Ma ago and that the Mediterranean was reduced to a series of evaporite basins.