Lakes and marshes host a unique community of organisms. Aquatic inhabitants are characterized by their ability to live in stagnant water with a high content of organic matter. And the creatures living on the shores of lakes and marshes are extremely hygrophilous. At the same time, the soils near lakes, and especially marshes, are poor in minerals, which also creates certain difficulties for the development of flora.

The main trend of the Neogene period was the gradual drying of the climate. Territories occupied by lakes and marshes were shrinking, but still occupied a significant part of the globe. Lakes and marshes were spread all over the world and could be found on every continent, including Antarctica, which by that time had not yet completely covered by ice.

The marshes and lakes were surrounded by quite diverse vegetation, already very similar to what we can encounter nowadays. Among the conifers, cypress trees (Cypress), ancestors of modern bald cypress, were numerous, and...