Proboscideans

A tribute to one of the most awesome and famous group of mammals and by far my top favorite mammalian group, the mighty proboscideans !!

(Moeritherium, Deinotherium giganteum, Platybelodon grangeri, Primelephas gomphotheroides, Numidotherium, Gomphotherium steinheimense, Amebelodon fricki, Chilgatherium, Palaeomastodon , Deinotherium bozasi, Notiomastodon platensis, Stegodon trigonocephalus, Zygolophodon borsoni, Phiomia, American mastodon, Barytherium grave, Stegotetrabelodon syrticus, Cuvieronius hyodon, Deinotherium proavum, Tilos dwarf elephant, Palaeoloxodon namadicus, Prodeinotherium bavaricum, Stegodon ganesha, Loxodonta atlantica, Palaeoloxodon falconeri, Palaeoloxodon antiquus, Cretan dwarf mammoth, Palaeoloxodon recki, Rhynchotherium falconeri, Mammuthus africanavus, South African mammoth, Sardinian dwarf mammoth, Southern mammoth, Pygmy mammoth, Steppe mammoth, Woolly mammoth, Columbian mammoth, Stegodon zdanskyi)- (extinct), African bush elephant, Asian elephant and African forest elephant.

There were perhaps over 100 species of proboscideans. In this image, there are only 41 species.


Nearly half of the proboscideans are based on the skeletal reconstruction by Asier Larramendi.

Larramendi, A. 201X. Shoulder height, body mass and shape of proboscideans. Acta. Palaeontologica Polonica XX (X): xxx–xxx. dx.doi.org/10.4202/app.00136.2…


(The order proboscidea has one of the most comprehensive fossil records of any species. The evolutionary history of proboscideans has always been of great interest to vertebrate palaeontologists.

There were tiny mammals lived alongside dinosaurs for many million years. Mammals diversified after the extinction of dinosaurs and among those mammals was a tiny proboscidean. It evolved into several different species. This group was very successful that they were so diverse. Over time, they not only became bigger but became the most dominant of all the mammals. They inhabited every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Some proboscideans are heavier than the largest carnivorous dinosaurs.

Elephantidae is a family of large, herbivorous mammals collectively called elephants and mammoths. These are terrestrial large mammals with a snout modified into a trunk and teeth modified into tusks. Most genera and species in the family are extinct. Only two genera, Loxodonta (African elephants) and Elephas (Asiatic elephants) are the only surviving members of the order proboscidea. The largest land mammal alive today, the African elephant which weighs about 6 tonnes, the record holder individual weighed about 10.4 tonnes. The order proboscidea also has the largest ever land mammal, Palaeoloxodon namadicus which weighed upto 22 tonnes.)