Cyprus Dwarf Elephant

Elephas cypriotes (species)

Sensitive Classification

Fossils are sensitive in nature and should not be collected unless it is done legally and responsibly. Vertebrate fossils are illegal to collect on public lands.

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On Wikipedia

The Cyprus dwarf elephant (Palaeoloxodon cypriotes) is an extinct species that inhabited the island of Cyprus during the Late Pleistocene until around 11,000 years BC. Remains comprise 44 molars, found in the north of the island, seven molars discovered in the south-east, a single measurable femur and a single tusk among very sparse additional bone and tusk fragments. The molars support derivation from the Straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus), that inhabited Europe since 780,000 years ago. The species is presumably derived from the older, larger P. xylophagou from the late Middle Pleistocene which reached the island presumably during a Pleistocene glacial maximum when low sea levels allowed a low probability sea crossing between Cyprus and Asia Minor, most likely between the…