Protanancus
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''Protanancus'' is an extinct
genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of amebelodontid
proboscidean 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 ...
from
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
. The genus consists solely of type species ''P. macinnesi''.Anancus ''Anancus'' is an extinct genus of elephantoid proboscideans ("gomphothere" ''sensu lato'') native to Afro-Eurasia, that lived from the Tortonian stage of the late Miocene until the genus' extinction during the early Pleistocene, roughly from 8.5 ...
'', and the Greek ''prōtos'' "first".


Description

''Protanancus'', about the size of a present-day
Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...
, was presumably quite similar to the related proboscidean ''
Platybelodon ''Platybelodon'' ("flat-spear tusk") is an extinct genus of large herbivorous proboscidean mammals related to modern-day elephants. Species lived during the middle Miocene Epoch in Africa, Asia and the Caucasus. Palaeobiology ''Platybelodon'' wa ...
''. Like ''Platybelodon'', the mandibular
symphysis A symphysis (, pl. symphyses) is a fibrocartilaginous fusion between two bones. It is a type of cartilaginous joint, specifically a secondary cartilaginous joint. # A symphysis is an amphiarthrosis, a slightly movable joint. # A growing together ...
of this species was narrow and elongated, and possessed two flattened tusks. Investigation of the structure of the lower tusks revealed that those of ''Protanancus'' were concentric, like those of most proboscideans (including present-day proboscideans), while those of ''Platybelodon'' possessed dentinal tubules.


Classification

''Protanancus'' was described by Arambourg in
1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...
.Siwalik The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the Indi ...
s area. This animal is thought to have evolved from ''Gomphotherium'', and developed over millions of years to give rise to other similar animals such as ''Platybelodon'' or ''
Amebelodon ''Amebelodon'' is a genus of extinct proboscidean belonging to Amebelodontidae (the so-called shovel-tuskers), a group of proboscideans related to the modern elephants and their close relative the mammoth. The most striking attribute of this anim ...
''. ''Protanancus'' is also related to ''
Archaeobelodon ''Archaeobelodon'' is an extinct genus of proboscidean of the family Amebelodontidae that lived in Europe and North Africa (Egypt) during the Miocene from 16.9 to 16.0 Ma, living for approximately . ''Archaeobelodon'' was an ancestor of ''Plat ...
''. Other fossils have been found in
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
.


Paleobiology

Fossils of ''Protanancus'' in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
have been found in the same locations as those of ''Platybelodon''. However, it appears that after living together for at least two million years, ''Platybelodon'' survived and ''Protanancus'' became extinct. Only in the area where ''Platybelodon'' was not present (the Siwalik) did ''Protanancus'' still thrive. The shape of the jaws of the two animals indicates that they had the same lifestyle, with shovel-like tusks that could pick up plant material. However, the tubular structure of ''Platybelodon's'' tusks indicates that this animal bore greater loads and more abrasion than ''Protanancus''.Shiqi Wang, Tao Deng, Tao Tang, Guangpu Xie, Yuguang Zhang, and Duoqing Wang. (2015) Evolution of Protanancus (Proboscidea, Mammalia) in East Asia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 35:1.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q20721964 Prehistoric placental genera Amebelodontidae Miocene proboscideans Miocene first appearances Miocene extinctions