Palaeoloxodon falconeri


Palaeoloxodon falconeri, also known as the pygmy elephant, Maltese pygmy elephant, or Sicilian dwarf elephant, is an extinct Siculo-Maltese species of elephant that was derived from the straight-tusked elephant.

Taxonomy

In 1867, George Busk had proposed the species Elephas falconeri for many of the smallest molars selected from the material originally ascribed by Hugh Falconer to Palaeoloxodon melitensis.

Description

This island-bound elephant was an example of insular dwarfism, with an adult male specimen MPUR/V n1 measured in shoulder height and weighed about, and an adult female specimen MPUR/V n2 measured in shoulder height and weighed about. P. falconeri's ancestors most likely reached the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Sicily from North Africa or possibly, from northern Europe during a period of Pleistocene maximum. When the sea levels were around lower, that significantly reduced distances and opened land bridges in between the islands and both to and from the mainland.

Cultural significance

The belief in cyclopes may have originated in P. falconeri skulls found in Sicily. As early as the 14th century, scholars had noted that the nasal cavity could be mistaken for a singular giant eye socket.

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