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
Javan rhinos, once thought safe from poachers, are anything but
A painting from 1861, depicting the hunting of Javan rhino in Indonesia. W.F.A. Zimmermann, Rhino Resource Center Jason…
What is this new Langya virus? Do we need to be worried?
People could have caught the virus from wild shrews. Shutterstock Allen Cheng, Monash University A new virus, Langya…
Double-check Your Cup of Coffee: The Evolutionary Story of Caffeine
Ever wake up in the morning holding your nearest cup of joe, and wonder how nature even came…
I set out to investigate where silky sharks travel − and by chance documented a shark’s amazing power to regenerate its sabotaged fin
Rather than a tracking tag telling scientists where this shark traveled, its violent removal let them observe an…