A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus Mammuthus. They lived from the late Miocene epoch into the Holocene until about 4,000 years ago, with mammoth species at various times inhabiting Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Mammoths are distinguished from living elephants by their spirally twisted tusks and in at least some later species, the development of numerous adaptions to living in cold environments, including a thick layer of fur.
Proboscidea is 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. Three species of elephant are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant.
Palaeoloxodon is an extinct genus of elephant. The genus originated in Africa during the Early Pleistocene, and expanded into Eurasia at the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene. The genus contains the largest known species of elephants, over 4 metres (13 ft) tall at the shoulders and over 13 tonnes (29,000 lb) in weight, representing among the largest land mammals ever, including the African Palaeoloxodon recki, the European straight-tusked elephant and the South Asian Palaeoloxodon namadicus. P. namadicus has been suggested to be the largest known land mammal by some authors based on extrapolation from fragmentary remains, though these estimates are highly speculative. In contrast, the genus also contains many species of dwarf elephants that evolved via insular dwarfism on islands in the Mediterranean, some like Palaeoloxodon falconeri less than 1 metre (3.3 ft) in shoulder height as fully grown adults, making them the smallest elephants known. The genus has a long and complex taxonomic history, and at various times, it has been considered to belong to Loxodonta or Elephas, but today is usually considered a valid and separate genus in its own right.
Dwarf elephants are prehistoric members of the order Proboscidea which, through the process of allopatric speciation on islands, evolved much smaller body sizes in comparison with their immediate ancestors. Dwarf elephants are an example of insular dwarfism, the phenomenon whereby large terrestrial vertebrates that colonize islands evolve dwarf forms, a phenomenon attributed to adaptation to resource-poor environments and lack of predation and competition.
Palaeoloxodon recki, often known by the synonym Elephas recki, is an extinct species of elephant native to Africa and West Asia from the Pliocene or Early Pleistocene to the Middle Pleistocene. During most of its existence, the species represented the dominant elephant species in East Africa. The species is divided into five roughly chronologically successive subspecies. While the type and latest subspecies P. recki recki as well as the preceding P. recki ileretensis are widely accepted to be closely related and ancestral to Eurasian Palaeoloxodon, the relationships of the other, chronologically earlier subspecies to P. recki recki, P. recki ileretensis and Palaeoloxodon are uncertain, with it being suggested they are unrelated and should be elevated to separate species.
The straight-tusked elephant is an extinct species of elephant that inhabited Europe and Western Asia during the Middle and Late Pleistocene. One of the largest known elephant species, mature fully grown bulls on average had a shoulder height of 4 metres (13 ft) and a weight of 13 tonnes (29,000 lb). Straight-tusked elephants likely lived very similarly to modern elephants, with herds of adult females and juveniles and solitary adult males. The species was primarily associated with temperate and Mediterranean woodland and forest habitats, flourishing during interglacial periods, when its range would extend across Europe as far north as Great Britain and Denmark and eastwards into Russia, while persisting in southern Europe during glacial periods. Skeletons found in association with stone tools and wooden spears suggest they were scavenged and hunted by early humans, including Homo heidelbergensis and their Neanderthal successors.
Palaeoloxodon falconeri is an extinct species of dwarf elephant from the Middle Pleistocene of Sicily and Malta. It is amongst the smallest of all dwarf elephants, under 1 metre (3.3 Palaeoloxodon, it derived from a population of the mainland European straight-tusked elephant.
Mammuthus meridionalis, sometimes called the southern mammoth, is an extinct species of mammoth native to Eurasia, including Europe, during the Early Pleistocene, living from around 2.5 million years ago to 800,000 years ago.
Mammuthus trogontherii, sometimes called the steppe mammoth, is an extinct species of mammoth that ranged over most of northern Eurasia during the Early and Middle Pleistocene, approximately 1.7 million to 200,000 years ago. The evolution of the steppe mammoth marked the initial adaptation of the mammoth lineage towards cold environments, with the species probably being covered in a layer of fur. One of the largest mammoth species, it evolved in East Asia during the Early Pleistocene, around 1.8 million years ago, before migrating into North America around 1.3 million years ago, and into Europe during the Early/Middle Pleistocene transition, around 1 to 0.7 million years ago. It was the ancestor of the woolly mammoth and Columbian mammoth of the later Pleistocene.
Palaeoloxodon namadicus is an extinct species of prehistoric elephant known from the Middle Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene of the Indian subcontinent, and possibly also elsewhere in Asia. The species grew larger than any living elephant, and some authors have suggested it to have been the largest known land mammal based on extrapolation from fragmentary remains, though these estimates are speculative.
Mammuthus lamarmorai is a species of dwarf mammoth which lived during the late Middle and Late Pleistocene on the island of Sardinia in the Mediterranean. It has been estimated to have had a shoulder height of around 1.4 metres (4.6 ft). Remains have been found across the western part of the island.
The Cypriot pygmy hippopotamus is an extinct species of dwarf hippopotamus that inhabited the island of Cyprus from the Pleistocene until the early Holocene. One the smallest known hippopotamus species, it was comparable in size to the living pygmy hippopotamus though it was more closely related to the common hippopotamus, with its small body size a result of insular dwarfism. It represented one of only two large terrestrial mammals on Cyprus alongside the Cyprus dwarf elephant. The species became extinct around 12,000 years ago following the arrival of humans on Cyprus, and potential evidence of human hunting has been found at the Aetokremnos rockshelter on the southern coast of the island.
Hippopotamus antiquus is an extinct species of the genus Hippopotamus that ranged across Europe during the Early and Middle Pleistocene. It was considerably larger than the living hippopotamus.
Hippopotamus creutzburgi, the Cretan dwarf hippopotamus, is an extinct species of hippopotamus from the island of Crete. It lived on the island from the Early Pleistocene to early Middle Pleistocene, and probably descended from Hippopotamus antiquus. It was considerably smaller than H. antiquus, weighing approximately 400 kilograms (880 lb), an example of insular dwarfism. It was one of only two large herbivores on the island during its existence, alongside the dwarf mammoth Mammuthus creticus, with large predators being absent, the only other species of mammal present on the island being the giant rat Kritimys. It is known from abundant remains collected from the Katharo basin in the eastern uplands of Crete, approximately 1,100–1,200 metres (3,600–3,900 ft) above sea level, as well as much rarer remains found in coastal caves. Analysis of its limbs suggests that it was more adapted to terrestrial locomotion than living hippopotamus, primarily walking on its hooves rather than its footpads as in living hippopotamus, and capable of traversing the rugged terrain of Crete. Analysis of its teeth suggests that it had a grazing diet, similar to modern Hippopotamus amphibius. The previous suggestion that the species can be divided into two subspecies is not supported by modern research.
Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis is an extinct species of dwarf elephant belonging to the genus Palaeoloxodon, native to the Siculo-Maltese archipelago during the late Middle Pleistocene and Late Pleistocene. It is derived from the European mainland straight-tusked elephant.
Palaeoloxodon naumanni is an extinct species of elephant belonging to the genus Palaeoloxodon that was native to the Japanese archipelago during the Middle to Late Pleistocene around 330,000 to 24,000 years ago. It is named after the German geologist Heinrich Edmund Naumann who first described remains of the species in the late 19th century, with the species sometimes being called Naumann's elephant. Fossils attributed to P. naumanni are also known from China, though the status of these specimens is unresolved, and some authors regard them as belonging to separate species.
Palaeoloxodon creutzburgi is an extinct species of elephant known from the Middle-Late Pleistocene of Crete. It is a descendant of the large mainland species Palaeoloxodon antiquus. It is known from localities across the island. P. chaniensis from Stylos and in Vamos cave, Chania, west Crete is considered to be a junior synonym of P. creutzburgi. It had undergone insular dwarfism, being approximately 40% of the size of its mainland ancestor, and was around the size of the living Asian elephant. It lived alongside the radiation of Candiacervus deer endemic to the island, the mouse Mus batae-minotaurus, the Cretan otter, and the Cretan shrew.
Mammuthus creticus, or the Cretan dwarf mammoth, is an extinct species of dwarf mammoth endemic to Crete during the Early Pleistocene to early Middle Pleistocene.
Kritimys, also known as the Cretan giant rat is an extinct genus of murid rodent that was endemic to the island of Crete during the Early and Middle Pleistocene. There are two known species, K. kiridus from the Early-Mid Pleistocene, and its descendant K. catreus from the Middle Pleistocene. It is suggested to be closely related to and probably derived from Praomys. As with most island rodents, Kritimys was larger than its mainland relatives, with its size increasing over time, with K. catreus estimated to weigh 518 grams (1.142 lb), around 6.7 times the weight of its mainland ancestor, an example of island gigantism. The temporal range of the genus is considered to define the regional Kritimys biozone, during which time there were only two other species of mammal native to the island, a species of dwarf mammoth, Mammuthus creticus and the dwarf hippopotamus Hippopotamus creutzburgi. It became extinct during the late Middle Pleistocene, following the arrival of the Mus bateae-minotaurus lineage to the island, exhibiting a decrease in size shortly before its extinction.
Palaeoloxodon huaihoensis is an extinct species of elephant belonging to the genus Palaeoloxodon known from the Pleistocene of China.
