Moeritheres, Mastodonts,and Mammoths Elephant Evolution in Action

• Main Author: Sukumar, Raman
• Format: Book Part
• Language: unknown
• Published: Oxford University PressNew York, NY 2003
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctica; Tundra
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195107784.003.0001; https://academic.oup.com/book/chapter-pdf/52323081/isbn-9780195107784-book-part-1.pdf

Abstract The evolution of elephants and related forms, collectively known as the pro boscideans, is one of the better-recorded tales of mammalian evolution. Since its origin in the late Paleocene Epoch, about 60 million years (My) ago, the order Proboscidea witnessed a spectacular radiation until the end of the Pleistocene Epoch, about 10,000 years ago. The evolutionary course of the proboscideans, marked by an overall increase in body size, also took many seemingly bizarre paths, including extreme dwarfism and morphologies (seen from the fossil record) that only the most daring paleontologist could have otherwise imagined (fig. 1.1). There are many examples of parallel and convergent evolution. During this period, the proboscideans occupied almost every continental habitat type, including swamps, tundra, boreal forests, deserts, savannas, tropical forests, river basins, and high mountains. With the exception of Australia and Antarctica, fossil proboscideans have been found in every continent. Adaptations in anatomy and physiology of the proboscideans were obviously as diverse as the spread of habitats they occupied.