Elephants

A Baby Mammoth

Many different kinds of elephant have lived since the early Eocene epoch, but only the African and Indian still live. Probably still called proboscideans, this group ranged in size from Moeritherium to 5m (16ft) tall mammoths. Mastodonts and elephants all display features relating to feeding their bulky bodies.

(left) Mammoth (right) Mastodon

Moeritherium

Moeritherium was amphibious, like the hippopotamus it resembles. It was around 1m high and weighed about 230kg. It fed on soft water-plants and was able to grind the food without the massive grinding teeth found in later elephants. Moeritherium was an early proboscidean indicating that they may be related to elephants.

The skulls of many proboscideans were high backed where large head muscles attached. Their weight was kept down by honeycomb-like spaces inside the bone.  Moeritherium had a low, flat skull, about 50cm (20 inches) long. The 24 small cheek teeth lasted all its life, while incisors were developed into small tusks.  

Phiomia 

The short-trunked mastodont Phiomia lived in North Africa about 32 million years ago. No more than 2m tall, Phiomia was elephant-like, but  although it had developed trunk, tusks and body, they were still small. 

The lower incisors were extended into long, shovel-shaped tusks which projected between down-curved upper tusks. The 24 grinding cheek teeth of Phiomia were larger and high and crowned than those of Moeritherium. Cusped teeth had to grind through large volumes of plant food , wearing down to a flat grinding surface as they became older.

Gomphothereium

The teeth of Gomphothereium had low crowns and a thick layer of tough tooth enamel. Elephant-sized 3m (10ft) tall Gomphothereium would have needed a trunk to reach drinking water.

Stegodon

Stegodon's massive 3m (10ft) long tusks required a short neck with powerful shoulder and neck muscles. A high-domed skull anchored the muscles. Rather than wear out all its teeth at once, Stegodon produced 24 cheek teeth (but only 8 at a time) in all during its life so that it could eat and live for longer.  Fossils of Stegodon have been found in Pliocene to Pleistocene ages of rocks of East Africa and Asia.

A Mammoth Skeleton

Modern Elephants

Elephants relating to those living today first appeared about 7 million years ago. Reduced only to one tooth in each jaw at a time, the long teeth of today's elephant slowly grows forward as the front wears down. A new tooth replaces an old one as it wears out.

Elephants weigh up to 12 tonnes, eating an enormous amount each day to survive.