''Eritreum melakeghebrekristosi'' is an extinct species of
proboscidean mammal, which lived in
Northeast Africa
Northeast Africa, or ''Northeastern Africa'' or Northern East Africa as it was known in the past, is a geographic regional term used to refer to the countries of Africa situated in and around the Red Sea. The region is intermediate between North ...
during the late
Oligocene some 27 million years ago, and is considered to be the missing link between modern elephants and their ancestors. The
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
s of this species are the oldest known fossils featuring the horizontal tooth displacement seen in modern elephants. The species is estimated to have weighed and stood about at the shoulder, much smaller than modern species.
The generic name ''Eritreum'' comes from
Eritrea, the country in the
Horn of Africa where the specimen was discovered. The specific name ''melakeghebrekristosi'' honors Melake Ghebrekristos, the farmer who found the specimen.
References
*
Elephantiformes
Oligocene proboscideans
Prehistoric placental genera
Oligocene mammals of Africa
Fossil taxa described in 2006
Taxa named by Michael Abraha
{{paleo-proboscidean-stub