''Choerolophodon'' is an extinct genus of

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 ...

n that lived during the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

and Africa. Fossils of ''Choerolophodon'' have been found in Africa, Southeast Europe, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, the Indian subcontinent, and China. ''Choerolophodon'' has a single pair of tusks growing from the upper jaw, which are long and strongly curved.

Taxonomy

Numerous species of ''Choerolophodon'' are known: ''C. pentelicus'', ''C. anatolicus'' and ''C. chioticus'' from Southeast Europe (Turkey (Yamula Dam in

Kayseri Kayseri (; el, Καισάρεια) is a large Industrialisation, industrialised List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is comp ...

), Greece, Bulgaria) and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, ''C. palaeindicus'' and ''C. corrugatus'' from the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

, ''C. guangheensis'' from China, and ''C. ngorora'' and ''C. zaltaniensis'' from Africa. The name ''Choerolophodon'' was erected for ''"Mastodon" pentelicus'' from Greece by Schlesinger (1917) based on the discovery of new material from the ''pentelicus'' type locality. Choerolophodon molar

Cultural significance

Possible influence on Greek myths

''Choerolophodon'' is among the fossil proboscideans represented in the Miocene-age deposits on the Greek island of

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...

, alongside ''

Konobelodon ''Konobelodon'' is an extinct genus of amebelodont from southern Europe, China, and North America. Taxonomy ''Konobelodon'' was originally coined as a subgenus of ''Amebelodon'', and was subsequently elevated to full generic rank in a 2014 re- ...

'' and ''

Deinotherium ''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 mo ...

.'' Adrienne Mayor and

Nikos Solounias Nikos ( el, Νίκος, ''Níkos'') is a Greek given name. It originates from Greek ''Nikolaos'', which means "victory of the people".Liddell & Scott, Abridged Greek Lexicon Although used as a proper first name, Nikos is also a popular nickname of t ...

have speculated that these taxa may have influenced local legends of the island's deep history, serving as inspiration for gigantic mythical monsters called

Neades The Neades ( grc, Νηάς, Νηάδες) were legendary creatures of gigantic size said to inhabit the Greek island of Samos. Their voices were said to be capable of causing earthquakes, and ancient sources report that their bones were put on displ ...

, creatures whose voices were believed to cause earthquakes. Mayor and Solounias base their speculation on the fact that the fossils on Samos are found near a major

fault zone In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...

, suggesting that ancient Greeks may have interpreted the presence of their skeletal remains as being associated with past seismic activity in the region. Ancient sources attest that the bones of these creatures were put on display and that their stories inspired local expressions such as "They shout louder than the Neades!" Mayor and Solounias also suggest that these fossils may have inspired another story of the god

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

waging war with the

Amazons In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες ''Amazónes'', singular Ἀμαζών ''Amazōn'', via Latin ''Amāzon, -ŏnis'') are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, ...

on Samos, drawing similar comparisons between the island's geology and a description by

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

of this mythic fight. In this story, their skeletal remains are interpreted as belonging to the victims of this ancient war, who like the Neades were able to rend the earth when they cried out in death. They argue that ancient residents of Samos were aware of both the island's fossil record and its geology, and that these stories were early attempts to make sense of the two.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5103824 Choerolophodontidae Miocene proboscideans Prehistoric placental genera Fossil taxa described in 1917 Prehistory of Southeastern Europe Mammals of the Middle East Mammals of South Asia