The evolution of the elephant specie initiates the modification in the genetic traits of an elephant through sequential generations; hence the independent species divided into separate divisions. The subspecies therefore evolved and developed independently, and ultimately expanded and branched out to form advanced species, resulting in the formation and evolution of the modern elephant specie. The current elephant is a large herbivorous mammal, native in Southern Asia and Africa. The elephant species is the largest existing land animal, belonging to the family Elephantidae, and the order of Probiscidea. The elephant is characterised by the possession of a versatile trunk, capable of grasping objects and ivory tusks.
The evolution of the elephant specie arose within the Eocene and early Oligocene age, dating back perhaps 60 million years earlier. The earliest proboscideans have inhabited and populated all continents of the world, however with the slight exclusion of both Australia and Antarctica. The elephant specie encountered five major phases of evolution, the Phosphatherium, Moeritherium, Phiomia, Primelephas and the current evolution stage the modern elephant Loxodonta Africana and the Elephas Maximus, referred to as the African, Asian elephant. The original proboscides established the foundation of perhaps 352 species and subspecies. However due to the immense escalation of human settlement, mass habitat destruction and ultimately illegal poaching, unfortunately only two major species continue to exist within society.
The earliest ancestor of the elephant existed 60 million years earlier. The prehistoric genus Phosphatherium initiated the evolution of the modern elephant specie. Although the primitive mammal is the initial...
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...cumstances led to the formation of a rather short and broad neck, in addition to the modification of the second pair of incisors of the upper jaw into ivory tusks, although the two rudimentary tusks present in the lower jaw remained diminutive.
The physical adaptions adopted by the earliest elephants have led to the evolution of what is now recognised as the modern elephant species. The Phosphatherium, Moeritherium, Phiomia and Primelephas form the evolutionary line of the modern elephant, adapting larger physical structures, such as the skull, bones, limbs, figure and ears. Unfortunately the continuation of the elephant specie is threatened. Humans pose a great threat to the endangered elephant specie and risk the continuation and co-existence of the elephant. The evolution and continual reproduction of the elephant illustrates a significant element in society.
Have you ever wondered how animals interact and work together to get a job done? Many times, animals put their minds together to complete a task. But what many people do not realize is that animals interact with one another just as humans would. In many instances, people don’t realize the amount of intelligence and common sense that animals, such as the elephant, possess. The study of elephant’s thoughts and thinking were explained and backed up through three different mediums. This information was explained through articles, videos, and passages. Combined, these pieces of work clarified what the experiment was, what it was testing, the purpose behind it, and how the different pieces were
Each author has the same purpose in writing about the elephant studies and there are many similarities and differences in which the elephants behaved.
The rapid evolution of the family Elephantidae throughout time has been extensively researched in the past decades and has resulted in many new discoveries and lineages between the genuses of Elephantidae. Throughout evolution, a majority of the species of Elephantidae have become extinct, leaving only Loxodonta africana, Loxodonta cyclotis, and Elephas maximus. The number of these species, however, has dwindled significantly in the past years due to the high number of deaths of elephants due to poaching. The continuation of poaching has a possibility of a new evolutionary event within the elephants, elephants without tusks.
Scientists had some idea to the evolutionary process of whales. “It has always been clear that aquatic cetaceans must have evolved from terrestrial mammals and returned to the water, and the forelimbs of recent cetaceans still have the same general pattern as that of land mammals.” (Walking with Whales) It was known fact that land mammals and whales were related. However, the change from ancient whales to modern whales is drastic.
The origin of modern day whales, a mystery that has puzzled paleontologists for years, may have just been solved with the discovery of an ankle bone. This discovery might sound simple and unimportant, but the bones of these ancient animals hold many unanswered questions and provide solid proof of origin and behavior. The relationship between whales and other animals has proven to be difficult because whales are warm-blooded, like humans, yet they live in the sea. The fact that they are warm-blooded suggests that they are related to some type of land animal. However, the questions of exactly which animal, and how whales evolved from land to water, have remained unanswered until now.
The common name is the African Elephant, the scientific name is Loxodonta Africana, the phylum is Vertebrata, the class is Mammalia, the order is Proboscidea, and the family is Elephantidae. The Closest Relatives to the African Elephant are: the Asian Elephant, mammoths, primitive proboscidean (mastodons), sea cows, and hyraxes. Scientists believe that the African Elephant evolved from one of its closest relatives, the Sea Cow. The geographical location and range of the African elephant covers all of central and southern Africa. In Ethiopia there are isolated populations that exist around Lake Chad in Mali and Mauritania. Also in Kenya, Rhodesia, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Zaire, and in National parks located in South Africa, as well as several other countries. African Elephants, originally, were found in all of the Sub-Saharan African habitats except desert steppes. Elephants still occupy diverse habitats such as: temperate grassland, tropical savanna and grass lands, temperate forest and rainforest, tropical rainforest, tropical scrub forest, and tropical deciduous forest despite their drastic decline in numbers. However, their migratory patterns and habitat use have changed, due to the fact that they are restricted to protected areas. The elephant can exist in many types of environments but it prefers places that have many trees and bushes, which the elephant needs both for food and shade. They also like warm areas that have plenty of rainfall.
It is the highest rank that an elephant capturer can attain (Worall). This “power” has never been scientifically studied, but the people of both Burma and Thailand believe that this phenomenon exists. There are not many Khru Ba Yai left, it is said that there are a few still alive in both Burma and Thailand (Worall). These individuals became incredibly important when elephants went into “musth.” Several times a year, bull elephants go into a period called musth, a period of temporary madness. When in this state, bull elephant’s aggressiveness, testosterone levels, and mating drive spikes tremendously (Ogden). Studies have found that bull elephants are flooded with up to ten times as much testosterone as usual causing them to attack other elephants, mahouts, or anything else they may see as a threat (Ogden). In Elephant Run, Nick is given a first-hand look at how horrifying an encounter with a bull elephant in musth can be. “…The bull had uprooted every plant within reach and had plowed the ground around him into soft loam with his heavy tusks. As they approached, he started straining against his ropes in an effort to get to them” (Smith 59). However, something incredible transpired soon after Nick witnessed the roped up and infuriated bull elephant. “The monk stepped closer to the mad bull. He put his hands on one of his tusks and he leaned his old shaved head toward the bull’s ear, as if he were saying something to him” (Smith 61). The bull then relaxed after the monk named ‘Hilltop’ spoke to it. The Khru Ba Yai are a mysterious group with very few numbers in existence. It is a practice that seems utterly impossible but is ingrained in the Burmese culture as reality. The mahout tradition and practice is something so unique and utterly incredible, they risk life and limb to train and work with these magnificent animals. Interestingly enough, the mahouts of Burma actually helped in
To bring the readers to his level of understanding, Welz explains every term that may be new to the reader to avoid any confusions. For example, Welz defined the word "de-extinction" during the start of his writing as the whole point of the article depends on the meaning of the term. The author provides reliable sources to support his points which add plausibility to his article. By way of illustration, Welz uses the journal "Radiocarbon" written by S. L. Vartanyan in 1995 in St. Petersburg State University as a source to support his claim that wooly mammoth had gone extinct forty thousand years ago. This paper was presented at the 15th International Radiocarbon Conference, 15-19 August 1994, Glasgow, Scotland (Vartanyan) which represents that experts had proposed it. Also, the point that he provides the sources to give credit to other researchers deduces that he is a sincere scholar and is fair in his writing. Such collection of substantiated sources shows the sincerity of the author and strengthens the writer’s
“Elephants know when they need a helping hand-or rather, trunk.” In the video, Elephants Show Cooperation, the article, Elephants Can Lend a Helping Trunk, and the passage from Elephants Know When They Need a Helping Trunk in a Cooperative Task, the authors illustrate the intelligence of these animals. They all show an experiment that proves this claim. Elephants “join the elite club of social cooperators: chimpanzees, hyenas, rooks, and humans.” Their cognitive ability even suprises the researchers. Not only do they make wise decisions, but they cooperate with others. All three sources depict the sagacity of these remarkable creatures.
Lerner, E. and Lerner, B., 2008. Giraffes and okapi. The Gale Encyclopedia of Science 4
Elephants should not be killed because they are one of the main reasons that people visit the foreign land of Africa. Africa is incredibly hot and is not the most intriguing place to go on your vacation. If there were no elephants the amount of tourists would significantly decrease. Twenty eight percent of all tourist come to see the elephants. In the movie “Ivory Wars” the narrator says “ One of the few attractions for tourists is the African elephants that run wild and free across the vast plains of the continent of Africa.” When the amount of tourists decrease so does the money that they pay to see the elephants at a safari. Africa is obviously does not have the strongest economy to begin with and without the elephants to bring in tourists the continent of Africa will fall apart. Elephants are exotic and amazing to see, and without them would there really be a reason to visit Africa?
Since an elephant only has the one tuft of hair on their body it is considered a rare item, hence lucky. It can also be said that simply being able to obtain the hair and live to the tell the
Cohn, Jeffrey P. "Do Elephants Belong In Zoos?" Bioscience 56.9 (2006): 714-717. Academic Search Premier. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
What do you think about when you hear the word Africa? How about the word safari? Most people tend to think about elephants or giraffes. In this paper I will tell you many important facts about elephants: how they live, their appearance, and many other interesting facts about them. There are two different kinds of elephants; the African elephant and the Asian elephant (also known as the Indian elephant). The African elephant is the larger of the two.
The African elephant’s range has declined by over 50 percent since 1979 – and their populations are breaking up