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Deinotherium
Fossil range: Middle Miocene to Early Pleistocene
Heinrich Harder illustration of Dinotherium
Heinrich Harder illustration of Dinotherium
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Proboscidea
Suborder: †Deinotheroidea
Family: †Deinotheriidae
Subfamily: †Deinotheriinae
Genus: †Deinotherium
Kaup, 1829
Species

†Deinotherium bozasi (Arambourg, 1934)
†Deinotherium giganteus (Kaup, 1829)
†Deinotherium indicum (Falconer, 1845)

Deinotherium ("terrible beast"), also called the Hoe tusker[1] was a gigantic prehistoric relative of modern-day elephants that appeared in the Middle Miocene and continued until the Early Pleistocene. The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Langhian and Serravallian stages Early Pleistocene (also known as Lower Pleistocene, or Calabrian) is a subdivision of the Pleistocene Epoch of the Geologic time scale Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands Proboscidea is an order containing only one family of living animals Elephantidae the Elephants with three living Species ( African Bush Deinotheriidae ("terrible beasts" is a family of prehistoric elephant-like Proboscideans that lived during the Tertiary period, first appearing in Africa Deinotheriidae ("terrible beasts" is a family of prehistoric elephant-like Proboscideans that lived during the Tertiary period, first appearing in Africa Johann Jakob Kaup ( April 10, 1803 - July 4, 1873) was a German naturalist For the game see 1829 (board game. Year 1829 ( MDCCCXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display Johann Jakob Kaup ( April 10, 1803 - July 4, 1873) was a German naturalist For the game see 1829 (board game. Year 1829 ( MDCCCXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display Hugh Falconer MD, FRS ( February 29 1808 &ndash July 31 1865) was a distinguished Scottish Year 1845 ( MDCCCXLV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Elephants ( family: Elephantidae) are large land Mammals of the order Proboscidea. The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene period and extends from about 23 The Pleistocene ('plaɪstəsin is the epoch from 18 million to 10000 years BP covering the world's recent period During that time it changed very little. In life it probably resembled modern elephants, except that its trunk was shorter, and it had downward curving tusks attached to the lower jaw. Elephants ( family: Elephantidae) are large land Mammals of the order Proboscidea.

Deinotherium is the third largest land mammal known to have existed; only Indricotherium and Mammuthus sungari were larger. Paraceratherium, also commonly known as Indricotherium or Baluchitherium or just Indricothere (see taxonomic The Songhua River Mammoth ( Mammuthus sungari) evolved from smaller Siberian mammoths and occurred in Northern China during the middle Pleistocene (about 280000 years Males were generally between 3. 5 and 4. 5 meters (12 and 15 feet) tall at the shoulders although large specimens may have been up to 5m (16ft). The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit Their weight is estimated to have been between 5 and 10 tonnes (5. This article is about the tonne or metric ton For other tons see Ton. 5 and 11 US Standard tons), with the largest males weighing in excess of 14 tonnes (15. 4 US Standard tons)[2]. Deinotherium's range covered parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe. Adrienne Mayor, in The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology In Greek and Roman Times, has suggested that Deinothere fossils found in Greece helped generate myths of archaic giant beings. Adrienne Mayor (b1946 is a classical folklorist and historian of science A tooth of a deinothere found on the island of Crete, in shallow marine sediments of the Miocene (see link) raises questions: was Crete connected to the mainland during that time, or did Deinotheres share the often underrated swimming abilities of modern elephants?

Contents

Evolutionary Relationships

Deinotherium is the type genus of the family Deinotheriidae, evolving from the smaller, early Miocene Prodeinotherium. The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene period and extends from about 23 Deinotheriidae ("terrible beasts" is a family of prehistoric elephant-like Proboscideans that lived during the Tertiary period, first appearing in Africa Prodeinotherium (pro - "before" "terrible beast" is an early representative of the family Deinotheriidae that lived in Africa Europe and Asia in the These proboscideans represent a totally distinct line of evolutionary descent to that of other elephants, one that probably diverged very early in the history of the group as a whole. The large group to which elephants belong formerly contained several other related groups: besides the deinotheres there were the gomphotheres (some of which had shovel-like lower front teeth), and the mastodonts. Elephants ( family: Elephantidae) are large land Mammals of the order Proboscidea. The Gomphotheres are a diverse group of Extinct Elephant -like animals ( Proboscideans that were widespread in North America during the Mastodons or Mastodonts (from Greek μαστός and οδούς, meaning " Nipple tooth" are members of the extinct Only elephants survive today.

Paleoecology

The way Deinotherium used its curious tusks has been much debated. It may have rooted in soil for underground plant parts like roots and tubers, pulled down branches to snap them and reach leaves, or stripped soft bark from tree trunks. Deinotherium fossils have been uncovered at several of the African sites where remains of prehistoric hominid relatives of modern human beings have also been found. Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus

Characteristics

Deinotherium skull from Oxford University Museum of Natural History
Deinotherium skull from Oxford University Museum of Natural History

The following description, from Sanders 2003, is for D. The Oxford University Museum of Natural History, sometimes known simply as the Oxford University Museum, is a Museum displaying many of the University of Oxford's giganteus but in general applies to the other two species as well

Permanent tooth formula 0-0-2-3/1-0-2-3 (deciduous 0-0-3/1-0-3), with vertical cheek tooth replacement. Botany Autumn leaf color. See --> In Botany and Horticulture, deciduous Plants, including Two sets of bilophodont and trilophodont teeth. Molars and rear premolars tapiroid, vertical shearing teeth, and show that deinotheres became an independent evolutionary branch very early on; other premolars used for crushing. The cranium is short, low, and flattened on the top (in contrast to more advanced elephants, which have a higher and more domed forehead; the implication may be that deinotheres were less intelligent than other elephants), with very large, elevated occipital condyles. The occipital condyles are undersurface facets of the Occipital bone in vertebrates, which function in articulation with the superior facets of the The nasal opening is retracted and large, indicating a large trunk. The rostrum is long and the rostral fossa broad. Mandibular symphyses (the lower jaw-bone) is very long and curved downward, which, with the backward curved tusks, is a distinguishing feature of the group; it possessed no upper tusks.

Deinotherium is distinguished from its predecessor Prodeinotherium by its much greater size, greater crown dimensions, and reduced development of posterior cingula ornamentation in the second and third molar. Molars are the rearmost and most complicated kind of Tooth in most Mammals In many mammals they grind food hence the Latin name mola, " Millstone

Deinotherium and cryptozoology

The cryptozoologist Bernard Heuvelmans suggested in his book "On the Track of Unknown Animals" that Deinotherium still survives in Central Africa and was a source of the strange killings of hippos reported from Africa in the early 20th century. Bernard Heuvelmans ( October 10, 1916 &ndash August 22, 2001) was a Belgian - French scientist explorer researcher and On the Track of Unknown Animals is a cryptozoological book by French author Bernard Heuvelmans that was first published in 1955 under Central Africa is a core Region of the African Continent often considered to include Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad The twentieth century of the Common Era began on

Uses of the tusks

The probable answer to the tusk usage, could possibly be for stripping bark of trees. There may be many more answers to this, but until scientists discover the definite reason for having these odd tusks, it remains a mystery.

Species

Three species are recognised, all of great size. [[Image:Head and jaw of Deinotherium giganteum|225px|thumb|Head and jaw of Deinotherium giganteum. ]]

Deinotherium giganteus Kaup 1829

Deinotherium giganteus is the type species, and is described above. In Taxonomy, a type species is the species that originally defined a genus. It is primarily a late Miocene species, most common in Europe, and is the only species known from the circum-Mediterranean. Its last reported occurrence is from the middle Pliocene of Romania (2 to 4 million BP). The Pliocene epoch (spelled Pleiocene in some older texts is the period in the Geologic timescale that extends Before Present (BP years are a time scale used in Archaeology, Geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred The "Grigore Antipa" museum of natural history in Bucharest, Romania, has the only complete skeleton of Deinotherium giganteus in the world. It was unearthed in 1894, in Vaslui county, by the Romanian paleontologist Gregoriu Stefanescu

An entire skull, found in the Lower Pliocene beds of Eppelsheim, Hesse-Darmstadt in 1836, measured 4 ft (1. Eppelsheim is a municipality in the district Alzey-Worms, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The Grand Duchy of Hesse (Großherzogtum Hessen was a former state that existed in modern-day Germany. Year 1836 ( MDCCCXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap 2 meters) in length and 3 ft (. 9 meters) in breadth, indicating an animal exceeding modern elephants in size. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International

Deinotherium indicum Falconer 1945

Deinotherium indicum is the Asian species, known from India and Pakistan. It is distinguished by a more robust dentition and p4-m3 intravalley tubercles. Dentition is the development of Teeth and their arrangement in the Mouth. D. indicum appears in the middle Miocene, and is most common in the late Miocene. It disappears from the fossil record about 7 million years BP (late Miocene). Before Present (BP years are a time scale used in Archaeology, Geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred

Deinotherium bozasi Arambourg 1934

Deinotherium bozasi is the African species. It is characterised by a narrower rostral trough and smaller but higher nasal aperture, and a higher and narrower cranium, and shorter mandibular symphysis, than the other two species. D. bozasi appears at the beginning of the late Miocene, and continues there after the other two species have died out elsewhere. The youngest fossils are from the Kanjera Formation, Kenya, about a million years old (early Pleistocene)

References

  1. ^ http://www.cincymuseum.org/educators_researchers/educators/teacher_resources/afriacaelephant_edu_guide.pdf page 18
  2. ^ Walking with Beasts, Episode 4 "Next of Kin", BBC Documentary, 2001

External links

William J Sanders is a vertebrate Paleontologist and Research Scientist/Preparator at the University of Michigan. Mikael Fortelius (born 1 February, 1954) is Professor of Evolutionary Palaeontology at the University of Helsinki and the coordinator of the The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica
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