Deinotherium

Deinotherium bozasi Arambourg, 1934

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Deinotherium giganteus Kaup, 1829

Related Topics:
Kaup - 1829

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Deinotherium indicum Falconer, 1845

Related Topics:
Falconer - 1845

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Deinotherium ("terrible beast") was a huge prehistoric proto-elephant that appeared in the Middle Miocene and continued until the Early Pleistocene. During that time it changed very little. In life it probably resembled modern elephants, except that its trunk was probably not as long, and it had downward curving tusks attached to the lower jaw.

Related Topics:
Miocene - Pleistocene - Elephant

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Deinotherium was the second largest land mammal; only Indricotherium was larger. A big male stood about 4 to 4.5 meters tall at the shoulders. Its range covered parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe. Adrienne Mayor, in The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology In Greek and Roman Times, has suggested that Deinothere fossils found in Greece helped generate myths of archaic giant beings. A tooth of a deinothere found on the island of Crete, in shallow marine sediments of the Miocene (see link) raises questions: was Crete connected to the mainland during that time, or did Deinotheres share the often underrated swimming abilities of modern elephants?

Related Topics:
Indricotherium - Miocene

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