Surely you know some rare animals, because if you are a follower of our website, you will have read some articles about it. But this time we have dared to travel far into the past, to bring the prehistoric elephant before your eyes. It became extinct several million years ago, so no graphic documents of it are preserved. However, researchers have come pretty close to his image. Today we tell you all about the terrifying Platybelodon, an ancestor of today’s elephant.
This rare animal lived during the Miocene, more than fifteen million years ago. It could be found on most continents, as evidence of its existence has been discovered on Asia, America, Europe and Africa. If you want to discover more about this fascinating animal, you only have to read these lines. Find out!
What was Platybelodon like?
If the curiosities of elephants catch your attention, you will surely want to know a little more about the sinister Platybelodon. This extinct animal is part of the large mammals of the Amebelodontidae family. It had four fangs, though the bottom two were very large incisors, just like a beaver’s. It is believed that with them he unearthed the tubers that he used to feed himself.
The entire upper jaw of the prehistoric elephant or dinosaur elephant was a large trunk. It was smaller in size than the current elephant, but it could be opened in a rather strange way. It had an approximate height of three meters, and a length of six meters. The fact that the fossils of this animal have been found in the most distant parts of the planet is striking. The hypothesis that tries to explain this, defends that the Platybelodon could cross the isthmus that united the northwest of North America with the east of Siberia.
This amazing animal was described for the first time in 1920, after locating its remains in paleontological excavations. Before that time, there was no news of such a rare prehistoric elephant, and from that year all zoologists began to discuss all aspects of the animal, including of course its trunk. Join us to delve into its characteristics.
Characteristics of the prehistoric elephant
I had my trunk open
The main and most curious characteristic of the Platybelodon is his trunk, which opened and in which he had two large teeth. It is believed that his mouth had this curious shape of a shovel, since he used it to feed himself and take all the vegetable foods that he could find among the waters.
It did not have a large size
If we compare them with other extinct animals of that time, the Platybelodon did not have a large size. It is believed, based on the evidence found, that its size was similar to that of the African elephant that exists in our times. So really, there was nothing extraordinary or conspicuous about its size.
his mighty teeth
Surely, something that has caught your attention soon is the curious name of this extinct animal. The meaning of Platybelodon is “shovel tooth”, which describes in a very exact way the peculiar shape of its mouth. At first, after examining the remains that have survived to this day, it was believed that it only fed on aquatic plants that it captured with its strange trunk.
Upon closer study of the prehistoric elephant’s impressive tusks, it became clear that they were badly worn. So it was concluded that the Platybelodon He used them to peel the bark from trees and cut their branches. Surely it must have powerful teeth to rip apart a tree in such a way.
He had a trunk like a shovel
Another of the curious features of the Platybelodon’s limb is to dig holes as if it were a shovel. It is believed that he made these small incisions in the ground to feed on the roots of plants that he could not find on their surface. It was the only extinct animal that specialized in this curious way of finding food.
They were peaceful, but terrifying
It seems like a great contradiction, but although the behavior of the prehistoric elephant was peaceful and its diet was totally herbivorous, its appearance could be tremendously overwhelming. In addition to his corpulence, the lower teeth were large weapons and exceptionally hard as we have already mentioned before.
had small ears
Another difference with the current elephant that we know is that Platybelodon’s ears were quite small compared to the rest of its body. We have the image of the large ears of today’s elephants, but these have no comparison with those of their ancestors who had not developed them as much.
It resembled the Amebelodon
The prehistoric elephant was not the only one with characteristics similar to those of the current elephant. In fact, there was another species similar to Platybelodon, since it had a very similar trunk. It was called Amebelodon. Although it emerged after our protagonist and had more resemblance to the elephants of our era, since they had a trunk and long teeth came out of a mouth that was different. Furthermore, they were considerably larger than Platybelodons.
Various species of Platybelodon
Another very curious fact about Platybelodon is that despite having disappeared millions of years ago, it is known that there were several species of the same animal. In total there are four registered: the platybelodon spectabilis, danovi, cyrenaicus and grangeri. Each one with some differentiating nuance, but very similar between them.
As you may have seen, the Platybelodon was one of the most curious animals and has caused much controversy among experts. His discovery was very important for zoology, since one of the missing links of the well-known current elephant was discovered, in addition to verifying the strange way of feeding that it had. We can see its skeleton in some museums and imagine this powerful animal cutting logs thanks to its shovel-shaped trunk and its two incredible teeth.
And you, Did you know of the existence of the prehistoric elephant? If you liked this article, we are looking forward to you writing to us to read your comments. Cheer up! And if the animal world catches your attention, don’t miss the article in which we tell you about the most incredible animals with extraordinary abilities. We meet in a next super curious topic!