Around 20 million years ago, proboscideans, the ancestors of modern elephants, began expanding from Africa and Arabia into Eurasia and the Americas. Early species lacked the long, flexible trunks we associate with today’s elephants and instead had elongated lower jaws with additional tusks. These long-jawed proboscideans thrived in diverse habitats until trunked species like mammoths and mastodons replaced them due to environmental changes.
Related Posts
Tiny “Water Bears” Help Scientists Print Microelectronics on Living Tissue
Using frozen tardigrades, scientists have printed nanoscale patterns on living tissue, opening the door to futuristic biotech like biosensors and microelectronics on organisms.
First wind, then rain. Next come the mozzies – here’s how to reduce your risk of bites and infections
Cameron Webb, University of Sydney While some parts of southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales are still…
A key feature contributed to sauropods getting so enormous, new dino foot study reveals
Herschel Hoffmeyer/Shutterstock Steven W. Salisbury, The University of Queensland; Andréas Jannel, Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, and Olga Panagiotopoulou,…
Kerosene-Eating Yeast Could Help Clean Up Environmental Pollution
Scientists have discovered that a species of yeast called Saccharomyces exiguus can use kerosene as a source of…