Palaeoloxodon creutzburgi

Palaeoloxodon creutzburgi
Temporal range: Middle-Late Pleistocene
Drawing of molar teeth
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Proboscidea
Family: Elephantidae
Genus: †Palaeoloxodon
Species:
†P. creutzburgi
Binomial name
†Palaeoloxodon creutzburgi
Kuss 1965
Synonyms
  • Palaeoloxodon chaniensis Symeonidis et al., 2001[1]
  • Loxodonta creutzburgi[2]
  • Elephas creutzburgi[2]

Palaeoloxodon creutzburgi is an extinct species of elephant known from fossil found on the island Crete. It is a descendant of the large mainland straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus). It is known from localities across the island,[3] though known material is fragmentary.[4] P. chaniensis from Stylos and in Vamos cave, Chania, west Crete[1][5][6] 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,[3] with an estimated body mass of around 3,000 kilograms (6,600 lb).[4] Like its ancestor, it was probably a generalist feeder.[3] It lived during the Middle-Late Pleistocene,[3] alongside the radiation of Candiacervus deer endemic to the island, the mouse Mus batae-minotaurus, the Cretan otter, and the Cretan shrew.[7] Like other Pleistocene animals on Crete, its chronology is poorly constrained, though one specimen has been suggested to date to around 50,000 years ago based on amino acid racemization dating.[4]

See also

  • Mammuthus creticus a much smaller species of dwarf mammoth native to Crete during the Early-early Middle Pleistocene

References

  1. ^ a b Symeonides, N.K.; G.E. Theodorou; V.I. Giannopoulos (2001). "New data on Elephas chaniensis (Vamos cave, Chania, Crete)". The World of Elephants - International Congress, Rome 2001.
  2. ^ a b "Palaeoloxodon creutzburgi ✝". minddat.org. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Athanassiou, Athanassios; van der Geer, Alexandra A.E.; Lyras, George A. (August 2019). "Pleistocene insular Proboscidea of the Eastern Mediterranean: A review and update". Quaternary Science Reviews. 218: 306–321. Bibcode:2019QSRv..218..306A. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.06.028. S2CID 199107354.
  4. ^ a b c Sen, S. (2017): A review of the Pleistocene dwarfed elephants from the Aegean islands, and their paleogeographic context. – Fossil Imprint, 73(1-2): 76–92, Praha. ISSN 2533-4050 (print), ISSN 2533-4069 (online).
  5. ^ Palombo, M.R. (2001). "Endemic elephants of the Mediterranean Islands: knowledge, problems and perspectives". The World of Elephants - International Congress, Rome 2001.
  6. ^ Turvey, Samuel T., ed. (2009). Holocene extinctions. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199535095.
  7. ^ Lyras, George A.; Athanassiou, Athanassios; van der Geer, Alexandra A. E. (2022), Vlachos, Evangelos (ed.), "The Fossil Record of Insular Endemic Mammals from Greece", Fossil Vertebrates of Greece Vol. 2, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 661–701, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-68442-6_25, ISBN 978-3-030-68441-9, retrieved 2023-04-30


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