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References

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:57, 28 July 2022
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	[[Category:Pleistocene proboscideans]]		[[Category:Pleistocene proboscideans]]
	[[Category:Pleistocene mammals of Asia]]		[[Category:Pleistocene mammals of Asia]]
			[[Category:National symbols of India]]
	[[Category:Taxa named by Hugh Falconer]]		[[Category:Taxa named by Hugh Falconer]]
	[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 1846]]		[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 1846]]

ImportMaster at 02:57, 7 July 2022

2022-07-07T02:57:05Z

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{{short description|Extinct species of elephant}}
{{speciesbox
| name = Asian straight-tusked elephant
| fossil_range = {{fossilrange|Middle Pleistocene|Late Pleistocene}}
| image = Palaeoloxodon namadicus.JPG
| image_upright = 0.8
| image_caption = Skull at the [[Indian Museum, Kolkata]]
| genus = Palaeoloxodon
| species = namadicus
| authority = ([[Hugh Falconer|Falconer]] & [[Proby Cautley|Cautley]], 1846)
}}

'''''Palaeoloxodon namadicus''''' or the '''Asian straight-tusked elephant''', is an extinct [[species]] of prehistoric elephant known from the early [[Chibanian|Middle]] to [[Late Pleistocene]] of the [[Indian subcontinent]], and possibly also elsewhere in Asia.
[[File:Palaeoloxodon namadicus-bpk.jpg|left|thumb|Life restoration]]
Some authorities regard it to be a [[subspecies]] of ''[[Straight-tusked elephant|Palaeoloxodon antiquus]]'', the European straight-tusked elephant, due to extreme similarities of the tusks.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ferretti |first1=M.P. |date=May 2008 |title=The dwarf elephant Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis from Puntali Cave, Carini (Sicily; late Middle Pleistocene): Anatomy, systematics and phylogenetic relationships |journal=Quaternary International |volume=182 |issue=1 |pages=90–108 |bibcode=2008QuInt.182...90F |doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2007.11.003}}</ref> Their skull structure was also different from that of a modern elephant. The grouping of this genus is supported by cranial synapomorphies with other species of ''[[Palaeoloxodon]],'' which includes a large crest at the top of the skull that anchored the [[splenius muscles]] used to support the head. Later research suggested that ''P. namadicus'' can be distinguished from ''P. antiquus'' by its less robust limb bones and more stout cranium.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Larramendi|first=Asier|last2=Zhang|first2=Hanwen|last3=Palombo|first3=Maria Rita|last4=Ferretti|first4=Marco P.|date=February 2020|title=The evolution of Palaeoloxodon skull structure: Disentangling phylogenetic, sexually dimorphic, ontogenetic, and allometric morphological signals|journal=Quaternary Science Reviews|language=en|volume=229|pages=106090|doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106090|bibcode=2020QSRv..22906090L}}</ref>

Based on the [[stable isotope ratio]]es of carbon and oxygen and the morphology of their teeth, it is suggested that ''P. namadicus'' tended towards a [[Grazing (behaviour)|grazing]] diet, as opposed to the sympatric ''[[Stegodon]]'' and ''[[Elephas]]'' species, which tended more towards [[Browsing (herbivory)|browsing]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Patnaik |first=Rajeev |last2=Singh |first2=Ningthoujam Premjit |last3=Paul |first3=Debajyoti |last4=Sukumar |first4=Raman |date=2019-11-15 |title=Dietary and habitat shifts in relation to climate of Neogene-Quaternary proboscideans and associated mammals of the Indian subcontinent |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027737911930263X |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |language=en |volume=224 |pages=105968 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.105968 |issn=0277-3791}}</ref>

''Palaeoloxodon namadicus'' is thought to have become [[extinct]] during the [[Late Pleistocene]], making it one of four megafaunal species native to India known to have become extinct during the Late Pleistocene, alongside fellow [[proboscidea]]n ''[[Stegodon|Stegodon namadicus]]'', the equine ''[[Equus namadicus]]'', and a species of hippopotamus belonging to the genus ''[[Hexaprotodon]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jukar|first=A.M.|last2=Lyons|first2=S.K.|last3=Wagner|first3=P.J.|last4=Uhen|first4=M.D.|date=January 2021|title=Late Quaternary extinctions in the Indian Subcontinent|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S003101822030585X|journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology|language=en|volume=562|pages=110137|doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2020.110137}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Turvey|first=Samuel T.|last2=Sathe|first2=Vijay|last3=Crees|first3=Jennifer J.|last4=Jukar|first4=Advait M.|last5=Chakraborty|first5=Prateek|last6=Lister|first6=Adrian M.|date=January 2021|title=Late Quaternary megafaunal extinctions in India: How much do we know?|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379120307022|journal=Quaternary Science Reviews|language=en|volume=252|pages=106740|doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106740}}</ref> A late record of approximately 56,000 years [[Before Present]] is known from the banks of the [[Dhasan River]] on the [[Ganges|Ganga plain]] in [[Uttar Pradesh]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ghosh|first=Rupa|last2=Sehgal|first2=R. K.|last3=Srivastava|first3=Pradeep|last4=Shukla|first4=U. K.|last5=Nanda|first5=A. C.|last6=Singh|first6=D. S.|date=November 2016|title=Discovery of Elephas cf. namadicus from the late Pleistocene strata of Marginal Ganga Plain|journal=Journal of the Geological Society of India|language=en|volume=88|issue=5|pages=559–568|doi=10.1007/s12594-016-0521-7|issn=0016-7622}}</ref> In 2015, a study based on extensive research of fragmentary leg bone fossils suggested that ''P. namadicus'' may have been the largest land mammal ever,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/66361/ancient-elephant-may-have-been-biggest-land-mammal-ever|title=An Ancient Elephant May Have Been Biggest Land Mammal Ever|date=2015-07-17|access-date=2017-04-21|language=en}}</ref> but this requires reexamination.<ref name="probos_mass">{{cite journal |last1=Larramendi |first1=Asier |title=Proboscideans: Shoulder Height, Body Mass and Shape |journal=Acta Palaeontologica Polonica |date=2015 |doi=10.4202/app.00136.2014 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Remains possibly attributable to ''P. namadicus'' have also been reported across Southeast Asia and China.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Louys |first=Julien |last2=Curnoe |first2=Darren |last3=Tong |first3=Haowen |date=January 2007 |title=Characteristics of Pleistocene megafauna extinctions in Southeast Asia |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0031018206004032 |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |language=en |volume=243 |issue=1-2 |pages=152–173 |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2006.07.011}}</ref> However, the status of Chinese ''Palaeoloxodon'' is unresolved, with other authors considering the remains to belong to ''[[P. naumanni]]'' (otherwise known from Japan) or the separate species ''[[P. huaihoensis]]''. The postcranial remains of ''Palaeoloxodon'' from China are substantially more robust than Indian ''P. namadicus'' and in many respects are more similar to those of ''P. antiquus''.<ref name=":0" /> Remains attributed to ''P. namadicus'' or a similar form have been reported from the island of [[Sulawesi]] in Indonesia, similar in size to that reported for the Indian subcontinent.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Geer|first=Alexandra A. E.|last2=Bergh|first2=Gerrit D.|last3=Lyras|first3=George A.|last4=Prasetyo|first4=Unggul W.|last5=Due|first5=Rokus Awe|last6=Setiyabudi|first6=Erick|last7=Drinia|first7=Hara|date=August 2016|title=The effect of area and isolation on insular dwarf proboscideans|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jbi.12743|journal=Journal of Biogeography|language=en|volume=43|issue=8|pages=1656–1666|doi=10.1111/jbi.12743|issn=0305-0270}}</ref>

==Size==
[[File:Largest land mammals size chart.jpg|thumb|Size comparison of ''P. namadicus'' with human and ''[[Paraceratherium]].'']]
Several studies have attempted to estimate the size of the Asian straight-tusked elephants, as well as other prehistoric proboscideans, usually using comparisons of thigh bone length and knowledge of relative growth rates to estimate the size of incomplete skeletons.

One partial skeleton found in India in 1905 had thigh bones that likely measured {{convert|165|cm|ft}} when complete, suggesting a total shoulder height of {{convert|4.5|m|ft|1}} for this individual elephant.

Two partial thigh bones were found in the 19th century and would have measured 160 cm (5.2 ft) when complete. A fragment from the same locality was said to be almost a quarter larger; [[volumetric analysis]] then yields a size estimate of {{convert|5.2|m|ft|1}} tall at the shoulder and {{convert|22|t|ST|1|abbr=}} in body mass; however, this estimate based on the "distal femur portion" requires reexamination, as the author himself could only suspect that "fossils are likely stored in the Indian Museum of Kolkata; until such a collection can be revised, this size estimate will remain speculative."<ref name="probos_mass"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q7126427}}

[[Category:Palaeoloxodon]]
[[Category:Pleistocene proboscideans]]
[[Category:Pleistocene mammals of Asia]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Hugh Falconer]]
[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 1846]]

Palaeoloxodon namadicus - Revision history

172.70.219.77: /* References */

ImportMaster at 02:57, 7 July 2022