Cyprus Dwarf Elephant
Encyclopedia
The Cyprus Dwarf Elephant (Elephas cypriotes) is an extinct species of elephant
related to the living Asian Elephant
.
, this much smaller species inhabited Cyprus
and some other Mediterranean islands after the Messinian salinity crisis
, during the Late Pleistocene
. Its estimated body weight was only some 200 kilograms, a weight reduction of 98% from its ancestors which weighed about 10 metric tonnes. The molars are less reduced in scale, being some 40% of the size of the mainland straight-tusked elephants.
The factors responsible for the dwarfing of island mammals
are thought to include the reduction in food availability, predation and competition.
The Cyprus dwarf elephant survived at least until 9000 BC. The species is also known under a synonym as Elephas cypriotes bate, which commemorates the first palaeontologist to find and report it, Dorothea Bate
.
The first recorded find was by Dorothea Bate in a cave in the Kyrenia
hills of Cyprus
in 1902, described in a paper for the Royal Society
in 1903 and in a later paper for Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London in 1905.
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
related to the living Asian Elephant
Asian Elephant
The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....
.
Description
Believed to be descended from the Straight-tusked ElephantStraight-tusked Elephant
The Straight-tusked Elephant is an extinct species of elephant closely related to the living Asian Elephant. It inhabited Europe during the Middle and Late Pleistocene . Some experts regard the smaller Asian species E...
, this much smaller species inhabited Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and some other Mediterranean islands after the Messinian salinity crisis
Messinian salinity crisis
The Messinian Salinity Crisis, also referred to as the Messinian Event, and in its latest stage as the Lago Mare event, was a geological event during which the Mediterranean Sea went into a cycle of partly or nearly complete desiccation throughout the latter part of the Messinian age of the Miocene...
, during the Late Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
. Its estimated body weight was only some 200 kilograms, a weight reduction of 98% from its ancestors which weighed about 10 metric tonnes. The molars are less reduced in scale, being some 40% of the size of the mainland straight-tusked elephants.
The factors responsible for the dwarfing of island mammals
Insular dwarfism
Insular dwarfism, a form of phyletic dwarfism, is the process and condition of the reduction in size of large animals – typically mammals – when their population's range is limited to a small environment, primarily islands. This natural process is distinct from the intentional creation of dwarf...
are thought to include the reduction in food availability, predation and competition.
The Cyprus dwarf elephant survived at least until 9000 BC. The species is also known under a synonym as Elephas cypriotes bate, which commemorates the first palaeontologist to find and report it, Dorothea Bate
Dorothea Bate
Dorothea Minola Alice Bate FGS , also known as Dorothy Bate, was a British palaeontologist, a pioneer of archaeozoology...
.
Excavations
Finds of whole or partial skeletons of this elephant are very rare.The first recorded find was by Dorothea Bate in a cave in the Kyrenia
Kyrenia
Kyrenia is a town on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. Internationally recognised as part of the Republic of Cyprus, Kyrenia has been under Turkish control since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974...
hills of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
in 1902, described in a paper for the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
in 1903 and in a later paper for Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London in 1905.