Palaeoloxodon Iolensis

''Palaeoloxodon'' ''jolensis'' (often historically erroneously spelled ''iolensis'') is an extinct species of elephant. The type specimen is located in the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. It is either considered the descendant species or last evolutionary stage of '' Palaeoloxodon recki'' in Africa. It is only known from isolated molars. The species is known from remains found across Africa (including Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa, and Kenya), which are largely poorly dated to approximately the late Middle Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene, with some authors suggesting an exclusively late Middle Pleistocene age, as the only well dated specimens of the species are over 130,000 years old. Like ''P. recki'', they are thought to have been dedicated grazers, being distinguished from earlier ''P. recki'' by having increased hypsodonty (tooth crown height) and enamel folding, with the plates being thicker along the long axis of the tooth. Following the extinction of the species, it was largely replaced by the modern African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana'').

The species was often historically spelled ''iolensis'', however, the original intended spelling appears to be ''jolensis.'' While originally placed in '' Elephas'', it is now placed in ''Palaeoloxodon''. Some authors continue to use the genus ''Elephas.''

References

Prehistoric proboscideans

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