Palaeoloxodon fossil map
Where fossils of Palaeoloxodon have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 0 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 5.333 million years ago to the present (Zanclean to Holocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Elephantidae |
| Named by | (Matsumoto 1924) |
| Fossil records | 778 occurrences at 236 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Ethiopia, Kenya, Greece, Tanzania, Spain, Italy, India, Germany, Portugal, Djibouti … |
| Rock formations | txn:43263, Shungura, Koobi Fora, Nachukui, Olduvai, Humbu |
About Palaeoloxodon
Palaeoloxodon is an extinct genus of elephant. It originated in Africa during the Early Pleistocene, and expanded into Eurasia at the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene. Palaeoloxodon contains the largest known species of elephants, with mature bulls over 4 metres (13 ft) tall at the shoulders and over 13 tonnes (29,000 lb) in weight, representing among the largest land mammals ever, including the African Palaeoloxodon recki, the European straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) and the South Asian Palaeoloxodon namadicus. P. namadicus has been suggested to be the largest known land mammal by some authors based on extrapolation from fragmentary remains, though these estimates are highly speculative. In contrast, the genus also contains many species of dwarf elephants (an example of insular dwarfism) on islands in the Mediterranean, some like Palaeoloxodon falconeri less than 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in shoulder height as fully grown adults, making them the smallest elephants known. The genus has a long and complex taxonomic history, and at various times, it has been considered to belong to Loxodonta or Elephas, but today is usually considered a valid and separate genus in its own right.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Palaeoloxodon (revision 1376490953), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q1523445.
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