The cyclops in Greek mythology are actually ancient dwarf elephants

The cyclops in Greek mythology are actually ancient dwarf elephants!

In Greek myth , there is a group of foreheads giants with one eye , they are cyclops . Cyclops are strong and stubborn, but they are good at building magic weapons and building magnificent buildings. Cyclops are not entirely from human imagination, their prototype is a kind of mini小象 that once lived on the Mediterranean islands.

Cyclops on Sicily

The Mediterranean is the cradle of human civilization, and the brilliant Greek civilization was born here. The Greeks were not only the creators of civilization, but also excellent navigators. Around the 8th century BC, the Greeks landed on Sicily, and the island was already inhabited by humans.

Caption: Sicily and Malta are located in the Mediterranean Sea, the picture comes from the network

On Sicily, the Greeks found something strange Skull. Compared with ordinary human skulls, these skulls are not only larger and heavier, but also lack a pair of human orbital holes, only a large opening in the middle of the forehead. It is based on these strange skulls that the Greeks created the magical cyclops. In addition to Sicily, the skull of the "Cyclops" was also found on the island of Malta.

Legend: Strange skull found in Sicily, the picture comes from the network

Legend: Cyclops, the picture is from the Internet

Until 1867, the British naval doctor and paleontologist George·巴斯特 (George Busk) after seeing the peculiar skull of Sicily confirmed that it was a kind Prehistoric 长鼻目动物 (elephant), so he named it 法氏象 (Elephas falconeri), the species name is dedicated to Scottish paleontologists, zoologists, and botanists 休·法尔科纳 (Hugh Falconer), it is Falconer who put forward the famous 断 Balance Theory (Punctuated equilibrium).

Caption: The famous Scottish scholar Hugh Falcona, the picture comes from the network

In 2001, paleontologist Palumbo and others were re-researching After collecting the fossils of the Phalaeoloxodon, it is believed that it belongs to the genus Palaeoloxodon, so it was renamed 法氏古格里牙象 (Palaeoloxodon falconeri ), also known as European dwarf elephant or Sicilian dwarf elephant .

Colossal Mini Edition

Legend: huge ancient prism, the picture comes from the Internet

古横牙象 is a huge terrestrial mammal, and it is one of the largest terrestrial mammals of that has ever appeared, but it belongs to the ancient prismatic elephant, but it is surprisingly small, and a head The pig is almost old.

Legend: Comparison of the size of the ancient prism and human. The three individuals in the picture represent adult male (left) and adult female (Right) and juvenile (below), the picture is from the Internet

The adult male of the paleodonta fasciatus is less than 2 meters in length, about 1 meter in shoulder and 300 kg in weight. An adult female has a height of 0.8 meters at the shoulder and a weight of 170 kg. You know, the newly born African elephant weighs 100 kilograms. It can be seen that the ancient prism elephant is very small.

Legend: Fossil of the ancient prism, picture from the Internet

Note: The restored map of the ancient prism of Farren, the picture is from the Internet

Although the ancient prism of Farren is very small, its appearance is similar to the familiar elephants. They have a strong body and a front of their head. With a long and flexible nose, a tooth sticks out from the mouth. The ancient prism of Farren has strong limbs. Due to its small size and light weight, it walks very quickly.

Far away from the mainland, the body size becomes smaller

The ancient pyramidal elephants are so mini and cute, you must know that their relatives on the European continent can reach 4 meters in height and weigh more than 5 tons! What caused them to become so small?

Caption: The route of the European continent's elephants and hippos entering the Mediterranean islands, the picture comes from the network

18,000 years ago, when the earth was right In the last ice age peak , the sea level is 110 meters lower than today. It is precisely because of the drop in sea level that the islands of Malta and Sicily are connected with the European continent, and the huge paleodontooth came here south.

Later, with the end of the glacial period, the sea level gradually rose, Malta and Sicily once again became islands surrounded by the sea, and the paleodontodons remaining on the two islands faced the limited resources and food of the islands. Does not shrink one's body size, this phenomenon is called island dwarfization (Insular Dwarfism).

Caption: Island dwarfing in the buffalo body, the picture comes from the network

Scientists have found that the giant elephant from 4 meters high to 1 meter The tall mini elephant only took about 5000 time. It becomes smaller together with the ancient prism, and there are animals such as hippos. As a result, the islands of Sicily and Malta have become small nations in the Mediterranean, where one of the smallest elephants in the world lives.

Legend: Mini elephants, mini hippos and giant swans living in Malta, pictures from the Internet

Legend: The ancient Prismoid elephant bullied by giant swan, the picture is from the Internet

The ancient Prismoid elephant living on the Mediterranean islands seems to be far away from the world and enjoys peace, but it is difficult in the end Fleeing the fate of extinction. 8000 years ago , the last ancient prism of Farren died, this species declared disappeared. Regarding the disappearance of the ancient prism, it is generally believed that it was caused by the arrival and hunting of humans. After all, the population density of species on the small island is very low, and even lower intensity hunting will cause its collapse!

References:

1.Palombo, M.R. (2001). Endemic elephants of the Mediterranean Islands: knowledge, problems and perspectives. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress (October 16–20, 2001, Rome): 486–491.

2.Busk, G. (1867). Description of the remains of three extinct species of elephant, collected by Capt. Spratt, CBRN, in the ossiferous cavern of Zebbug, in the island of Malta. Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, 6: 227–306.

3.Larramendi, A.; Palombo , MR (2015). "Body Size, Biology and Encephalization Quotient of Palaeoloxodon ex gr. P. falconeri from Spinagallo Cave (Hyblean plateau, Sicily)". Hystrix, the Italian Journal of Mammalogy. 26 (2): 102–109. doi:10.4404/hystrix-26.2-11478.

Picture/Network (Invasion and deletion)

​Text/Palaeontology Exploration (Jiang Hong)

​Typesetting/Palaeontology Exploration