Evolution of the Elephant

By Reema Heydari & John Kosta

What Elephants are Alive Today

Two main species

African Elephant
Africa shaped ears
Larger body body
Single domed head
Asian Elephant
Small ears
Smaller body
Double domed head

Howards slide
Moeritherium

-They had no type of trunk that

resembles the modern elephant

-Broad flexible upper lip

-second set of lower small tusks

Moeritherium

- They lived 37 to 35 million years ago

- Evidence of their existence is provided through DNA and fossil evidence

- Skeletons have been discovered in North and West Africa

- They lived in a soft water wetland type environment

Palaeomastodon

- They lived 36 to 35 million years ago

- Fossils and a skull of this animal were discovered in North East Africa and
South West Asia

- Swampy environment in East Africa

Palaeomastodon

- Short trunk
- Flat lower tusks
- Scrape bark/ carving
- Africa, Eurasia
- Dense fur
Palaeomastodon Size
Comparison
Gomphotherium

- Lived 33 to 10 million years ago

- Fossils discovered in East Africa and Ethiopia

Gomphotherium

- Eurasia, Africa, N. America

- Lower tusks for mud
- Swamp/ near lakes
- Dense fur
Gomphotherium
Primelephas

- lived 5 million years ago

- fossil evidence of existence

Primelephas

- Smaller tusks
- Longer trunk
- Swamps
Primelephas
Elephas Maximus

- Lived 2.5 million years ago to today

- They originated in Africa and migrated to South Asia

- Evidence is they are alive today

Elephas Maximus

- The Asian Elephant

- Multiple modern subspecies
- Found throughout south Asia
- 7.9 to 9 feet tall
- 3991 kg
How & Why

- developed new advantageous traits to better adapt to their environment

- tusks used as shovels for food in water
- lost tusks as they left swamps
Evolution
 Citations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moeritherium https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_el
ephant
https://www.britannica.com/animal/Moeritherium
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/71
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palaeomastodon 40/0
http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/p/palaeomastodon.html https://www.britannica.com/animal/g
omphothere
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomphothere

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/mesaxonia/gomphotheriidae
.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primelephas

http://www.elephant.se/primelephas.php