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July Feature: Elephants
The elephants we see today have been on the scene for some five
million years. They are the only survivors of a once widespread
group of animals with trunks, the Proboscidae, which produced
more than 300 different species over a span of 50 million years.
The surviving representatives of the Proboscidae are the Asian
elephant (Elephas maximus) and the African elephant
(Loxodonta africana). The African species is the larger
of the two, and is the biggest land mammal on earth. Male African
elephants can grow up to 3.5m in height at the shoulder, have
an average length of seven metres, and can weigh over six tonnes.
The elephant's ivory tusks and prehensile trunk are its distinguishing
features. Tusks are simply the animals' upper incisor teeth, which
can grow to 2 or 3m long on old bulls. They are made of a unique
mixture of dentine, cartilaginous material and calcium salts.
Elephants use their tusks to pry bark off trees or dig for roots,
and in social encounters as an instrument of display or as a weapon.
They also have four molars which are replaced several times during
a lifetime. Learn MORE About Elephants... |