Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis
Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis or Elephas mnaidriensis is an extinct species of elephant from Malta and Sicily closely related to the modern Asian elephant. This elephant is a separate species with respect to the European mainland straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) and not just a smaller insular form.[2] P. mnaidriensis has nearly 90% body reduction compared to the ancestral form with an estimated shoulder height of about 1.8 metres (5.9 ft) and a mean body weight of about 1,100 kilograms (2,400 lb).[2] Another estimate gives a shoulder height of 2 m (6.6 ft) and a weight of 1.7 t (1.9 short tons).[3]
Jaw
| Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis Temporal range: Late Pleistocene | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Proboscidea |
| Family: | Elephantidae |
| Genus: | †Palaeoloxodon |
| Species: | †P. mnaidriensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis | |
See also
References
- Adams, A.L. (1874). "On the dentition and osteology of the Maltese fossil elephant, being a description of the remains discovered by the author in Malta between the years 1860 and 1866". Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 9 (1): 1–124. plates I-XXII
- Ferretti, M.P. (2007). The dwarf elephant Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis from Puntali Cave, Carini (Sicily; late Middle Pleistocene): Anatomy, systematics and phylogenetic relationships. Quaternary International, Volume 182, Issue 1, May 2008, Pages 90-108.
- Larramendi, A. (2016). "Shoulder height, body mass and shape of proboscideans" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 61. doi:10.4202/app.00136.2014.
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