| Palaeoloxodon turkmenicus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Holotype skull | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Proboscidea |
| Family: | Elephantidae |
| Genus: | † Palaeoloxodon |
| Species: | †P. turkmenicus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Palaeoloxodon turkmenicus Dubrovo, 1955 | |
Palaeoloxodon turkmenicus is an extinct species of elephant belonging to the genus Palaeoloxodon, known from the Middle Pleistocene of Central Asia and South Asia.
The species was described in 1955 based on a partial adult skull (ZIN 27052), as well as an associated atlas vertebra and partial femur, found in Khuday-Dag near Krasnovodsk in what is now western Turkmenistan (then the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic in the Soviet Union) in Central Asia, dating to the early Middle Pleistocene. [1] [2] Its validity was historically considered uncertain, with a 2004 study suggesting that it was a synonym of the largely European straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus). [2] In 2024, a skull of a mature bull (WMNH-VP-F1), around 45-55 years of age was attributed to the species from Galander near Pampore in the Kashmir Valley located in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent (probably also of Middle Pleistocene age), with this study affirming the validity of P. turkmenicus as a distinct species of Palaeoloxodon . [3] Other remains from the site probably attributable to the specimen include the mandibles, the altas, a partial scapula, some fragmentary thoracic vertebrae, ribs and limb bone fragments, with the fragmentary remains of several other elephants (including a juvenile) also known from the site. [4] The 2024 study proposed that Palaeoloxodon turkmenicus may represent the ancestor of other Eurasian Palaeoloxodon species, but noted that given the current paucity of skull remains of early Middle Pleistocene Palaeoloxodon that this hypothesis was tenative. [3]
The species had a large body size, comparable to that of other mainland Eurasian Palaeoloxodon species. In contrast to most other Eurasian species of Palaeoloxodon (such as the European Palaeoloxodon antiquus and the South Asian Palaeoloxodon namadicus ) the parietal-occipital crest in the forehead region of the skull is only weakly developed, similar to the African-West Asian Palaeoloxodon recki , with the anatomy of the stylohyoid bone found at Pampore strongly differing from that of P. recki, P. antiquus and the Japanese P. naumanni , supporting its placement as a distinct species. [3]
Remains of other animals found at the Pampore site include those of the Kashmir stag (Cervus hanglu). [4]
The elephants at Pampore were found to have had their bones deliberately fractured by archaic humans via hammering using stone tools, possibly for the purposes of extracting marrow. At the site stone tools made of basalt were found, which were likely used for butchery. These tools were made using stone-knapping techniques reminiscent of the Levallois type, suggesting a late Middle Pleistocene age (possibly around 400-300,000 years ago) for the site. There is no evidence that the elephants were hunted, and they may have been scavenged after dying of natural causes. Abnormal bone growth within the sinuses suggests that the main Pampore bull had a severe, perhaps septic chronic sinus infection at the time of its death. [4]
Elephantidae is a family of large, herbivorous proboscidean mammals collectively called elephants and mammoths. These are large terrestrial mammals with a snout modified into a trunk and teeth modified into tusks. Most genera and species in the family are extinct. Only two genera, Loxodonta and Elephas, are living.
Elephas is one of two surviving genera in the family of elephants, Elephantidae, with one surviving species, the Asian elephant, Elephas maximus. Several extinct species have been identified as belonging to the genus, extending back to the Pliocene or possibly the late Miocene.
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.
Stegodon is an extinct genus of proboscidean, related to elephants. It was originally assigned to the family Elephantidae along with modern elephants but is now placed in the extinct family Stegodontidae. Like elephants, Stegodon had teeth with plate-like lophs that are different from those of more primitive proboscideans like gomphotheres and mammutids. Fossils of the genus are known from Africa and across much of Asia, as far southeast as Timor. The oldest fossils of the genus are found in Late Miocene strata in Asia, likely originating from the more archaic Stegolophodon, subsequently migrating into Africa. While the genus became extinct in Africa during the Pliocene, Stegodon persisted in South, Southeast and Eastern Asia into the Late Pleistocene.
Gomphotheres are an extinct group of proboscideans related to modern elephants. First appearing in Africa during the Oligocene, they dispersed into Eurasia and North America during the Miocene and arrived in South America during the Pleistocene as part of the Great American Interchange. Gomphotheres are a paraphyletic group ancestral to Elephantidae, which contains modern elephants, as well as Stegodontidae.
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 in once case, a wooden spear, 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 ft) in height as fully grown adults. A member of the genus 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.
Pampore, known as Pampar or Panpar in Kashmiri, is a historical town situated on the eastern side of the Jhelum River on the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway. It was known as Padmapura in antiquity. Pampore is about 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) away from Srinagar city centre Lal Chowk. It is primarily known for its cultivation of saffron.
Sinomastodon is an extinct gomphothere genus known from the Late Miocene to Early Pleistocene of Asia, including China, Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia and probably Kashmir.
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.
Palaeoloxodon cypriotes is an extinct species of dwarf elephant that inhabited the island of Cyprus during the Late Pleistocene. A probable descendant of the large straight-tusked elephant of mainland Europe and West Asia, the species is among the smallest known dwarf elephants, with fully grown individuals having an estimated shoulder height of only 1 metre (3.3 ft). It represented one of only two large animal species on the island alongside the Cypriot pygmy hippopotamus. The species became extinct around 12,000 years ago, around the time humans first colonised Cyprus, and potential evidence of human hunting has been found.
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.
Bubalus murrensis, also known as European water buffalo, is an extinct water buffalo species native to Europe during the Pleistocene epoch, possibly persisting into the Holocene.
Palaeoloxodon huaihoensis is an extinct species of elephant belonging to the genus Palaeoloxodon known from the Pleistocene of China.