Stegodon is a genus of the extinct subfamily Stegodontinae of the order Proboscidea. Stegodons lived in large parts of Asia during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs. Some Stegodon species were among the largest of all Proboscidea, with adults being 13 feet high at the shoulder, 26 feet long, not including 10 feet long nearly straight tusks. In some individuals the tusks were so close together that the trunk probably did not lie between them but instead draped over. A dwarf population survived until 12,000 years ago on the Island of Flores. Its name is derived from the Greek words stegein ('to cover') and odοn ('tooth') because of the distinctive ridges on the animal's molars. Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in female mammary glands and by the presence of: hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in... Groups Jozaria (extinct) Anthracobunidae (extinct) Moeritheriidae (extinct) Euproboscidea Numidotheriidae (extinct) Barytheriidae (extinct) Deinotheriidae (extinct) Elephantiformes Phiomiidae (extinct) Palaeomastodontidae (extinct) Hemimastodontidae (extinct) Euelephantoidea Choerolophodontidae (extinct) Amebelodontidae (extinct) Gnathabelodontidae (extinct) Gomphotheriidae (extinct) Elephantidae Mammutidae (extinct) Proboscidea is an order containing only one family of living animals, Elephantidae, the elephants, with three species... Genera and Species Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta africana Elephas Elephas maximus Proboscidea is an order including only one extant family, Elephantidae or the elephants, with three species: the Savannah Elephant and Forest Elephant (which were collectively known as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (formerly known as the Indian... Hugh Falconer (February 29, 1808 - January 31, 1865) was a Scottish palaeontologist and botanist, and the younger brother of the notable merchant Alexander Falconer. ... For other uses, see Genus (disambiguation). ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ... ... In scientific classification used in biology, the order (Latin: ordo, plural ordines) is a rank between class and family (termed a taxon at that rank). ... Groups Jozaria (extinct) Anthracobunidae (extinct) Moeritheriidae (extinct) Euproboscidea Numidotheriidae (extinct) Barytheriidae (extinct) Deinotheriidae (extinct) Elephantiformes Phiomiidae (extinct) Palaeomastodontidae (extinct) Hemimastodontidae (extinct) Euelephantoidea Choerolophodontidae (extinct) Amebelodontidae (extinct) Gnathabelodontidae (extinct) Gomphotheriidae (extinct) Elephantidae Mammutidae (extinct) Proboscidea is an order containing only one family of living animals, Elephantidae, the elephants, with three species... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... The Pliocene epoch (spelled Pleiocene in some older texts) is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5. ... The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) on the geologic timescale is the period from 1,808,000 to 11,550 years BP. The Pleistocene epoch had been intended to cover the worlds recent period of repeated glaciations. ... A division of geologic time less than a period and greater than an age. ... Dwarf elephants are prehistoric members of the order Proboscidea, that, through the process of allopatric speciation, evolved to a fraction of the size of their modern relatives. ... Map of Flores Island Flores (Portuguese for flowers) is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. ... A humans visible teeth. ... Molars are the rearmost and most complicated kind of tooth in most mammals. ...

Relationship

In the past, stegodonts were believed to be the ancestors of the true elephants and mammoths, but it is currently believed that they have no modern descendants. Stegodon is derived from the genus Stegolophodon, an extinct genus known from the Miocene of Asia. Stegodon is considered to be a sister group of the mammoth, as well as the extant elephants. Some taxonomists consider the stegodonts as a subfamily of the Elephantidae. Both Stegolophodon and primitive elephants were derived from the Gomphotheriidae. The most important difference between stegodon and the Elephantidae can be observed in the molars. Molars of stegodonts consist of a series of low, roof-shaped ridges, whereas in elephants each ridge has become a high-crowned plate. Furthermore, the skeletons of stegodonts are more robust and compact than those of elephants. An ancestor is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an ancestor (i. ... Genera and Species Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta africana Elephas Elephas maximus Elephas antiquus † Elephas beyeri † Elephas celebensis † Elephas cypriotes † Elephas ekorensis † Elephas falconeri † Elephas iolensis † Elephas planifrons † Elephas platycephalus † Elephas recki † Stegodon † Mammuthus † Elephantidae (the elephants) is a family of pachyderm, and the only remaining family in the order Proboscidea... This article is about the genus Mammuthus. ... Look up taxonomy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Gomphothere is a name given to a dirverse group of extinct elephant-like animals, proboscideans). ... Molars are the rearmost and most complicated kind of tooth in most mammals. ...

In the Bardia National Park in Nepal, there is a population of Indian Elephants which, due to inbreeding are very similar to Stegodon and may retain many Stegodon features. Some dismiss these primitive features as recent mutations rather than atavisms [1]. ROYAL BARDIYA NATIONAL PARK AREA (968 SQ. KMS.) Location. ... It has been suggested that inbreeding depression be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that mutant be merged into this article or section. ... This page is about the biological term Atavism. ...

Dwarfing on islands

Like elephants, stegodonts must have been good swimmers. Their fossils are frequently encountered on Asian islands, which even during periods of low sea-level (during the cold phases of the Pleistocene) were not connected by landbridges with the Asian continent (Sulawesi, Flores, Timor, Sumba in Indonesia, Luzon and Mindanao in the Philippines and in Taiwan and Japan). A general evolutionary trend in large mammals on islands is island dwarfing. The smallest dwarf species, Stegodon sondaari, known from 900,000 year old layers on the Indonesian island of Flores, had an estimated bodyweight comparable to a water buffalo. Another dwarf species lived on Flores more recently, and was contemporaneous with the hominin discovered in 2003, Homo floresiensis. For other uses, see Fossil (disambiguation). ... Land bridge is essentially a historical term; it refers to dry land exposed during periods of low sea level (see regression), connecting what are now separate continents or islands. ... Sulawesi (formerly more commonly known as Celebes, IPA: a Portuguese-originated form of the name) is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. ... Map of Flores Island Flores (Portuguese for flowers) is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. ... Timor is an island at the south end of the Malay Archipelago, divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, part of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara with the surface of 11,883 sq mi (30,777 km²). The name is a variant of timur... The Lesser Sunda Islands; Sumba is in the center Sumba is an island in Indonesia, and is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands. ... Map of the Philippines showing the island groups of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. ... Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. ... This article is about biological evolution. ... Island dwarfing is a biological phenomenon by which the size of animals isolated on an island shrinks dramatically over generations. ... For the controversy at the University of Pennsylvania, see Water buffalo incident. ... Genera Gorilla Pan (chimpanzees) Homo (humans) Paranthropus (extinct) Australopithecus (extinct) Sahelanthropus (extinct) Ardipithecus (extinct) Kenyanthropus (extinct) Homininae is a subfamily of Hominidae, including Homo sapiens and some extinct relatives, as well as the gorillas and the chimpanzees. ... Binomial name P. Brown , 2004 Homo floresiensis (Man of Flores, nicknamed Hobbit) is the name for a possible species in the genus Homo, remarkable for its small body, small brain, and survival until relatively recent times. ...

There are eleven known species of Stegodon:

• Stegodon elephantoides (Myanmar, Java)
• Stegodon sompoensis (Sulawesi, Indonesia)
• Stegodon aurorae (Japan) - Aurora's Stegodont
• Stegodon ganesha (India, Pakistan)
• Stegodon insignis (Pakistan)
• Stegodon zdanski (China)
• Stegodon orientalis (China, Japan) - Oriental Stegodont
• Stegodon shinshuensis (Japan) - Japanese Stegodont
• Stegodon trigonocephalus (Java, Indonesia)
• Stegodon sondaari (Flores, Indonesia)
• Stegodon florensis (Flores, Indonesia)