Straight-tusked elephant

Straight-tusked elephant Temporal range: Mid-Late Pleistocene ~0.78–0.03 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Skeleton
Skull in front-on view
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Proboscidea
Family:	Elephantidae
Genus:	†Palaeoloxodon
Species:	†P. antiquus
Binomial name
†Palaeoloxodon antiquus (Falconer & Cautley, 1847)
Approximate range of P. antiquus
Synonyms[2]
List Elephas antiquus (Falconer & Cautley, 1847) Elephas (Euelephas) antiquus (Falconer & Cautley, 1847) Elephas [Elephas] (Loxodon) priscus (Goldfuss) (Falconer, 1857) Elephas [Elephas] (Euelephas) antiquus (Falconer, 1857) Elephas Loxodon priscus Falconer, 1868 Elephas Ausonius Major, 1875 Elephas (Euelephas) antiquus var. nana Acconi, 1880 Leptodon giganteus Gunn, 1883 Elephas Gunnii Lartet, 1883 Leptodon minor Gunn, 1883 Elephas platyrhychus Gunn, 1883 and Gurells, 1897 Leptodon giganteus Gunn, 1883 Elephas (Elephas) antiquus var. minor Pohlig, 1887 Elephas (Elephas) giganteus intermedius Pohlig, 1887 Elephas meridionalis antiquitatis Portis, 1896 Elephas antiquus var. insularis Pohlig, 1887 Elephas antiquus germanicus Stefanescu, 1924 Palaeoloxodon antiquus italicus Osborn, 1924 Palaeoloxodon antiquus (andrewsii) Osborn, 1924 Hesperoloxodon antiquus Osborn, 1934 Hesperoloxodon antiquus germanicus Osborn, 1934 Hesperoloxodon antiquus italicus Osborn, 1934 Elephas (Elephas) antiquus ruthenensis Astre, 1937 Palaeoloxodon meridionaloides? Dubrovo, 1994 Loxodonta antiquus[1]

The straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) 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.

The species is part of the genus Palaeoloxodon (whose other members are also sometimes called straight-tusked elephants), which emerged in Africa during the Early Pleistocene, before dispersing across Eurasia at the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene, with the earliest record of Palaeoloxodon in Europe dated to around 800–700,000 years ago. The straight-tusked elephant is the ancestor of a number of species of dwarf elephants that inhabited islands in the Mediterranean. The species became extinct during the latter half of the Last Glacial Period, with the youngest remains found in the Iberian Peninsula, dating to around 44,000 years ago. Possible even younger records include a single tooth from the Netherlands that has been dated to around 37,000 years ago, and footprints from the southern part of the Iberian peninsula dated to 28,000 years ago.