Loxodonta atlantica
| Loxodonta atlantica Temporal range: Pliocene to Pleistocene | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Proboscidea |
| Family: | Elephantidae |
| Genus: | Loxodonta |
| Species: | †L. atlantica |
| Binomial name | |
| †Loxodonta atlantica (Pomel, 1879) | |
Loxodonta atlantica is an extinct species of elephant in the genus Loxodonta, from Africa. It was larger than the modern African elephant, with more progressive dentition.[1] It includes Pleistocene fossils from Ternifine,[2] Middle Pleistocene fossils from Elandsfontein and Late Pliocene fossils from the Omo.[3] L. atlantica was said to probably derive from L. adaurora;[4] however, an analysis in 2009 suggested that L. antlantica evolved from L. exoptata, and is ancestral to L. africana.[5] The species is divided into two subspecies: L. atlantica atlantica (northern Africa) and L. atlantica zulu (southern Africa).[4] The type for Loxodonta atlantica is housed in the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris, but is listed without a specimen number.[5]
References
- ↑ R. Norman Owen-Smith. Megaherbivores: the influence of very large body size on ecology
- ↑ D. Geraads (1987). Dating the Northern African cercopithecid fossil record: http://www.evolhum.cnrs.fr/geraads/geraa58.pdf, retrieved 6 December 2011.
- ↑ Jane Carruthers et al. The Elephant in South Africa: History and Distribution: http://www.elephantassessment.co.za/files/03_ch1_Elephant%20Management.pdf, retrieved 6 December 2011.
- 1 2 Coppens Y., V.J. Maglio, C.T. Madden & M. Beden. 1978. Proboscidea. In: V.J. Maglio & H.B.S. Cooke (eds) Evolution of African mammals. Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA, 336–367.
- 1 2 The Anatomical Record: Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology Volume 293, Issue 1, Article first published online: 20 NOV 2009: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.21010/pdf, retrieved 2 December 2011.