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Plesielephantiformes
Plesielephantiformes is an extinct clade of large herbivorous mammals and one of two suborders of the Proboscidea, a group containing elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...s and their close relatives. References Prehistoric animal suborders Mammal suborders Prehistoric proboscideans {{paleo-proboscidean-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proboscidea
The Proboscidea (; , ) are a taxonomic order of afrotherian mammals containing one living family (Elephantidae) and several extinct families. First described by J. Illiger in 1811, it encompasses the elephants and their close relatives. From the mid-Miocene onwards, most proboscideans were very large. The largest land mammal of all time may have been a proboscidean; ''Palaeoloxodon namadicus'' was up to at the shoulder and may have weighed up to , almost double the weight of some sauropods like ''Diplodocus carnegii''. The largest extant proboscidean is the African bush elephant, with a record of size of at the shoulder and . In addition to their enormous size, later proboscideans are distinguished by tusks and long, muscular trunks, which were less developed or absent in early proboscideans. Three species of elephant are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. Elephantidae is the only surviving family of the or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeheskel Shoshani
Jeheskel "Hezy" Shoshani (January 23, 1943 – May 21, 2008) was an evolutionary biologist who studied elephants and their relatives for over 35 years. Life and work Early life and career Shoshani was born in what is now Tel Aviv, Israel, but he held dual citizenship in the United States. His interest in elephants began in his youth after he read a Hebrew copy of Willis Lindquist's ''Burma Boy'', which told the story of the relationship between a boy and an elephant. He began his career as a zookeeper at the Tel Aviv Zoo and became the head zookeeper in 1966. He went on to research elephants in Sri Lanka and Kenya before moving to Detroit, Michigan in 1968 and becoming an undergraduate professor at Wayne State University around 1973. Shoshani founded the Elephant Interest Group (later known as the Elephant Research Foundation) in June 1977, and was the sole editor of its official journal, ''Elephant'' (formerly ''Elephant Newsletter''), for most of its run. He also establish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "dawn") and (''kainós'', "new") and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by a brief period in which the concentration of the carbon isotope Carbon-13, 13C in the atmosphere was exceptionally low in comparison with the more common isotope Carbon-12, 12C. The end is set at a major extinction event called the ''Grande Coupure'' (the "Great Break" in continuity) or the Eocene–Oligocene extinction event, which may be related to the impact of one or more large bolides in Popigai impact structure, Siberia and in what is now ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in 2009 by the International Union of Geological Sciences, the cutoff of the Pleistocene and the preceding Pliocene was regarded as being 1.806 million years Before Present (BP). Publications from earlier years may use either definition of the period. The end of the Pleistocene corresponds with the end of the last glacial period and also with the end of the Paleolithic age used in archaeology. The name is a combination of Ancient Greek grc, label=none, πλεῖστος, pleīstos, most and grc, label=none, καινός, kainós (latinized as ), 'new'. At the end of the preceding Pliocene, the previously isolated North and South American continents were joined by the Isthmus of Panama, causing Great American Interchang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deinotherium Gigantissimum
''Deinotherium'' was a large elephant-like proboscidean that appeared in the Middle Miocene and survived until the Early Pleistocene. Although superficially resembling modern elephants, they had notably more flexible necks, limbs adapted to a more cursorial lifestyle as well as tusks that curved downwards and back. In addition, their tusks didn't emerge from the maxilla as in elephants but from the mandible. ''Deinotherium'' was a widespread genus, ranging from East Africa to the south to Europe and east to the Indian Subcontinent. They were browsing animals with a diet mainly consisting of leaves, and they most likely died out as forested areas were gradually replaced by open grassland during the latter half of the Neogene. History and naming ''Deinotherium'' has a long history, possibly dating back as early as the 17th century when a French surgeon named Matsorier found the bones of large animals in an area known as the "field of giants" near Lyon. Matsorier is said to have ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Numidotheriidae
Numidotheriidae is an extinct family of primitive proboscidean that lived from the late Paleocene to the early Oligocene periods of North Africa. Fragmentary fossils (mainly teeth) of the early Eocene genera, ''Daouitherium'' and ''Phosphatherium'', have been found in the Ouled Abdun Basin, Morocco. ''Numidotherium'' is known from an almost complete skeleton from late early Eocene deposits in southern Algeria and Libya. Compared to modern elephants, the Numidotheriidae were quite small. ''Phosphatherium'', for instance, was only 60 cm long and weighed about 15 kg. ''Numidotherium'' was about 1 m in length. They occupied a similar ecological niche to the modern hippopotamus and the related early proboscid ''Moeritherium ''Moeritherium'' ("the beast from Lake Moeris") is an extinct genus of primitive proboscideans. These prehistoric mammals are related to the elephant and, more distantly, sea cows and hyraxes Hyraxes (), also called dassies, are small, thick ...'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barytheriidae
Barytheriidae (meaning "heavy beasts") is an extinct family of primitive proboscideans that lived during the late Eocene and early Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but t ... in North Africa and Oman. The Barytheriidae were the first large-sized proboscideans to appear in the fossil record and were characterized by a strong sexual dimorphism.E. R. Seiffert, S. Nasir, A. Al-Harthy, J. R. Groenke, B. P. Kraatz, N. J. Stevens, and A. R. Al-Sayigh. 2012. Diversity in the later Paleogene proboscidean radiation: a small barytheriid from the Oligocene of Dhofar Governorate, Sultanate of Oman. Naturwissenschaften 99:133-141 References Prehistoric proboscideans Prehistoric mammal families Taxa named by Charles William Andrews {{paleo-proboscidean-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deinotheriidae
Deinotheriidae ("terrible beasts") is a family of prehistoric elephant-like proboscideans that lived during the Cenozoic era, first appearing in Africa, then spreading across southern Asia (Indo-Pakistan) and Europe. During that time, they changed very little, apart from growing much larger in size; by the late Miocene, they had become the largest land animals of their time. Their most distinctive features were the downward-curving tusks on the lower jaw. Deinotheres were not very diverse; the only three known genera are '' Chilgatherium'', ''Prodeinotherium'', and '' Deinotherium''. These form an evolutionary succession, with each new genus replacing the preceding one. Unlike the various mammoth and mastodont lineages, the deinotheres died out in the early Pleistocene, rather than continuing through the ice age. Description The body shape and proportions of deinotheres were very much like those of modern elephants. The legs were long, like modern elephants, but the skull ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clade
A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, the equivalent Latin term ''cladus'' (plural ''cladi'') is often used in taxonomical literature. The common ancestor may be an individual, a population, or a species (extinct or extant). Clades are nested, one in another, as each branch in turn splits into smaller branches. These splits reflect evolutionary history as populations diverged and evolved independently. Clades are termed monophyletic (Greek: "one clan") groups. Over the last few decades, the cladistic approach has revolutionized biological classification and revealed surprising evolutionary relationships among organisms. Increasingly, taxonomists try to avoid naming taxa that are not clades; that is, taxa that are not monophyletic. Some of the relationships between organisms ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suborder
Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized by the nomenclature codes. An immediately higher rank, superorder, is sometimes added directly above order, with suborder directly beneath order. An order can also be defined as a group of related families. What does and does not belong to each order is determined by a taxonomist, as is whether a particular order should be recognized at all. Often there is no exact agreement, with different taxonomists each taking a different position. There are no hard rules that a taxonomist needs to follow in describing or recognizing an order. Some taxa are accepted almost universally, while others are recognized only rarely. The name of an order is usually written with a capital letter. For some groups of organisms, their orders may follow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea. The order was formerly much more diverse during the Pleistocene, but most species became extinct during the Late Pleistocene epoch. Distinctive features of elephants include a long proboscis called a trunk, tusks, large ear flaps, pillar-like legs, and tough but sensitive skin. The trunk is used for breathing, bringing food and water to the mouth, and grasping objects. Tusks, which are derived from the incisor teeth, serve both as weapons and as tools for moving objects and digging. The large ear flaps assist in maintaining a constant body temperature as well as in communication. African elephants have larger ears and concave backs, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears, and convex or level backs. Elephants ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prehistoric Animal Suborders
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of symbols, marks, and images appears very early among humans, but the earliest known writing systems appeared 5000 years ago. It took thousands of years for writing systems to be widely adopted, with writing spreading to almost all cultures by the 19th century. The end of prehistory therefore came at very different times in different places, and the term is less often used in discussing societies where prehistory ended relatively recently. In the early Bronze Age, Sumer in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley Civilisation, and ancient Egypt were the first civilizations to develop their own scripts and to keep historical records, with their neighbors following. Most other civilizations reached the end of prehistory during the following Iron Age. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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