How a fossil can determine elephants in Africa were dominant feeders

 


In a rare fossil find, scientists can go back millions of years and discover why elephants of Africa were the dominant feeders at that time. Summary is below

A remarkably well-preserved fossil elephant cranium from Kenya is helping scientists understand how its species became the dominant elephant in eastern Africa several million years ago, a time when a cooler, drier climate allowed grasslands to spread and when habitually bipedal human ancestors first appeared on the landscape.

Archeologists have found a cranium of an elephant dating about 4.5 million years ago and weighing around 6 tons. Not only is this the most well preserved cranium ever found of ancient elephants but it's 85% intact and allows scientists to see adaptations that would explain why they had the bigger chances of survival than some of their animal counterparts

They found enhanced mouthparts for chewing and a large amount of protective elements on the giant teeth which would cause less grinding down as is often seen in grass eaters.

According to University of Michigan paleontologist William Sanders, "The adaptations of L. adaurora put it at a great advantage over more primitive elephants, in that it could probably use less energy to chew more food and live longer to have more offspring". Click below for the full original article.

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