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
Digital sound archives can bring extinct birds (briefly) back to life
Colorized version of a 1935 photo of a male ivory-billed woodpecker, now believed to be extinct. Photographed by…
Here Are Our Top ‘Modern Sciences’ Stories This November
November has now come and gone, and the year is slowly closing. However, that doesn’t mean that we’re…
3D models confirm sharks obey a century-old biological law
Using high-resolution 3D models, researchers have confirmed that 54 diverse shark species are all constrained by the same fundamental biological scaling law that governs body shape and function.
Should we bring back the thylacine? We asked 5 experts
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery Signe Dean, The Conversation In a newly announced partnership with Texas biotech company…