Messinian is the last stage of the Miocene epoch. It spans the time between 7.246 ± 0.005 Ma and 5.332 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago). It is named after the Messinian evaporite deposit, which was named after Messina in Sicily. The Messinian stage saw the start, at around 6 million years ago, of the Messinian salinity crisis, which brought about repeated desiccations of the Mediterranean Sea basin over the ensuing few million years.