Elephant evolution, artwork. These three species form the main line of the elephant evolutionary tree. The ancestor species is Palaeomastodon (top), w

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Elephant evolution, artwork. These three species form the main line of the elephant evolutionary tree. The ancestor species is Palaeomastodon (top), which evolved in the Eocene (55 to 38 million years ago). This species then eveloved into Gomphotherium (centre) in the Oligocene (38 to 24 million years ago), and then Primelaphus (bottom) in the Miocene (24 to 5 million years ago). Primelaphus is the ancestor of the two modern-day elephant species: Elephas (the Asian elephant) and Loxodonta (the African elephant).

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Size: 3756px × 5634px
Photo credit: © GARY HINCKS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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