Animal A Day!

Asian Elephant (living relative to the Sulawesi Dwarf Elephants) Did you know that back in the Pleistocene there were several species of Elephant that stood only a few feet tall? These animals were all found on islands around the world, and grew smaller in size due to insular dwarfism. Some were found on Cyrpus, Crete, and other Mediterranean isles, some way over in California's Channel Islands, and some on the many islands of Indonesia. The Sulawesi Dwarf Elephant is a member of that last group. Fossils of this creature have been found on Java and Indonesia, and they date back to around 2 million years ago. One interesting distinction about the species is that they had functional lower tusks, though there is still much to be learned about them and about the species in general. What we do know is that these Elephants truly were small! They stood only about 5ft at the shoulders, which is a massive difference from the 9ft height of the living Asian Elephants (t...

Mammuthus trogontherii The Steppe Mammoth is an interesting creature because it actually predates the Woolly Mammoth that we known so well. These monstrous Proboscideans lived between 600,000 and 370,000 years ago, roaming about the steppes of Europe and Asia. Steppe Mammoths were one of the largest members of their entire order, living or extinct. At the shoulder they stood around 13ft, which would make them just slightly taller than an average male African Elephant today. Even larger specimens have been found, with some reaching as high as 15ft, and sporting tusks around 10ft long. Unlike the Woolly Mammoths, whose preserved carcasses have actually been found, and whose skeletons and tusks turn up regularly, the Steppe Mammoth is a more rare find . Most of the fossils found have been teeth, and only a handful of near-complete skeletons have been unearthed. A very rare skull was actually just located in France back in 2008. Steppe Mammoths most likely followed...

Platybelodon sp. Platybelodon is the name of a genus that contained four different species of Proboscideans (the Order also houses our modern day Elephants). They lived between 15 and 4 million years ago, and while they spread across Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America, they didn't make it too far past the Miocene. Platybelodon was a Gomphothere-- a member of a family that contained several other early-Elephant-like animals that had modified shovel-like tusks (along with the recognizable trunks). It has long been assumed that those weird lower jaws were used to scoop up aquatic plants, but new fossils with wear patterns have emerged, and a new hypothesis is that Platybelodon used that lower jaw to strip bark. They also had sharp lower incisors that could shear apart plant matter held by the trunk! Sadly, the Platybelodon and all of its close, Gomphothere relatives are now extinct, and the Elephant line we have today descends from a different family all...

Tenrec ecaudatus Today's animal is native to Madagascar, and has been introduced to the Mascarene Islands. But happily, unlike some of the other critters we've talked about this week, the Tailless Tenrec is not on the verge of extinction! These interesting little mammals actually have a stable population , no major threats, and a wide range. So now that we've got conservation status out of the way, what on Earth is a Tenrec?! The answer is... interesting. Tenrecs are members of that weird African Superorder known as Afrotheria. Their hodgepodge of relatives includes Elephants, Manatees, Hyraxes, Aardvarks, and Sengi. Tenrecs themselves look a bit like shrews or opossums, and some species even resemble Hedgehogs. This is due to convergent evolution-- Tenrecs evolved to fill the ecological niches that were normally filled by the aforementioned creatures. They May look alike and act alike, but they aren't actually related! The Tailless Tenrec is the largest of the ...

Dendrohyrax arboreus The Hyrax is such a weird little animal! There are four different species within three genera, all of which are found in Africa and the Middle East. They look like rodents, digest their food like ungulates, but are most closely related to Elephants and Manatees. So bizarre. As a side note to that-- the Superorder Afrotheria encompasses several genetically distinct animal species that all evolved on the African continent, share a common ancestor way  back, and have no other close relatives. Sengis , Aardvarks , Elephants , Manatees , and Golden Moles are also members of this interesting group. You may already know about the more common Rock Hyrax (they are fairly popular in Zoos)-- a ground dwelling, diurnal member of the family that is found across Sub-Saharan Africa with the exception of dense, forested areas. The Southern Tree Hyrax is just the opposite. They live in trees (if the name didn't give that away), are found in the dens...

Chrysospalax trevelyani Oh Classification, you can be so confusing, and so contentious! Moles. Burrowing, insectivorous animals that have tiny or no eyes and giant claws. You'd think they'd all be closely related, right? Nope. There are actually True Moles, Marsupial Moles, and Golden Moles. They all belong to completely different orders and are examples of what convergent evolution can do! Today's animal, the Giant Golden Mole is (unsurprisingly) one of the Golden Moles. This group of 21 species is found only in southern Africa, and the Giant itself is endemic to the nation of South Africa. They belong to the same Order as the Tenrecs, which itself is part of that odd hodgepodge Superorder known as Afrotheria . That's right, the Giant Golden Mole is technically more related to Manatees and Elephants than it is to the True Moles. Weird how that all works out! Giant Golden Moles are not, in fact, golden. Their fur is a dark brown. They have powerful front claws a...

Trichechus manatus As I write this there are four living Sirenian species in the world. Three are Manatees, and one is the Dugong . The order gets its name from the Sirens of Greek myth, and there are legends of sailors mistaking this giant aquatic mammals for mermaids ! The West Indian Manatee is one of the three living Manatees, with the African and the Amazonian being the other two. Though they live exclusively in the water like Whales do, they aren't closely related at all. Their nearest living relatives are actually the other members of the Afrotheria superorder- Elephants, Hyraxes, Sengis, and Aardvarks. The Manatees and Dugongs evolved from wading African herbivores millions of years ago. West Indian Manatee eating West Indian Manatees can be found in the Caribbean, as well as along the coast of Central and South America. They can live in both fresh and saltwater, and make their homes in rivers, estuaries, canals, and other coastal, slow-moving waters that give t...

When one thinks about Mammoths, they probably conjure up images of absolutely gigantic, hairy elephant-like mammals. The Pygmy Mammoths of the Channel Island s skew that image a bit- many were less than half the size of their mainland relatives! At some point tens of thousands of years ago, a group of Columbian Mammoths made a six mile swim out to Santarosae, a "superisland" that existed when the ocean was 300 feet lower . Today only the very highest land points remain above water, and form four of California's Channel Islands. Pygmy Mammoth Model from the Field Museum Why did these 14ft tall, 20,000lb Mammoths swim so far? Perhaps they were allured by the smell of food! Mammoths, and modern Elephants, are excellent distance swimmers thanks to their trunks and buoyant bodies, so travelling a few miles for a buffet of fresh vegetation is a definite possibility! Once on the island the Mammoths bred and the population grew. At the same time...

Dugong Phylum : Chordata Class : Mammalia Superorder : Afrotheria Order : Sirenia Family : Dugongidae Genus : Dugong Species : dugon Length : Up to 10ft (3m) Weight : 500-1,100lbs (226-499kg) IUCN Status : Vulnerable According to EDGE , the Dugong is one of the most evolutionarily diverse mammals still alive. It's closest known relative, the tragic Steller's Sea Cow, was hunted to extinction in the 18th century. Dugongs belong to the same order as the three extant Manatee species, and that order is more closely related to Aardvarks and Elephants than it is to the other aquatic mammals like Whales and Seals! Dugongs can be found in the warm coastal waters of the Indian Ocean, stretching from Africa to Australia. They are very seldom found in freshwater. Dugongs were once hunted for their oil and meat, but are now protected through their range. Unfortunately, these large aquatic herbivores still die as the byproduct of net fishing. Because of their large size, ...

The story of the Steller's Sea Cow ( Hydrodamalis gigas ) is a tragic one. In 1741, the ship of Dutch navigator Vitus Bering became wrecked on an island off the coast of the Kamchatka Penninsula (which would later be named Bering Island.) Bering and many of his crew members died on that island, which I suppose was a bad omen for the poor Sea Cows that were discovered there by the expedition's naturalist, Georg Steller. Steller wrote about the creatures once he and the crew were able to build a new ship from their old wreckage and leave the island. Within 27 short years, the entire species went extinct . ( Image Source ) How? Why? Bering's crew only killed and consumed one Sea Cow during their stay, but the meat was described as being delicious and of a quality that took longer to spoil than other meat. They had hides that could be used in boat making, and valuable oil that could be both eaten and burnt. Hunters began to travel to Bering Island, decimating the alread...

( Image Source )  The American Mastodon ( Mammut americanum ) was a large tusked mammal that inhabited North American during the late Pleistocene from about 3 million to 11,000 years ago. They stood between eight and ten feet at the shoulder and weighed around 10,000lbs. Mastodons had stocky legs and long hairs covering their bodies. They also had massive tusks, which where more straight then those of their Mammoth cousins. American Mastodons shared their Pleistocene homes with Mammoths. Though they both belong to the order Proboscidea, Mastodons are classed in the ancient and now completely extinct family of Mammutidae, while Mammoths shared the family of modern Elephants, Elephantidae. The American Mastodon was only the last of the Mastodon line. Members of the family appeared in Africa nearly 40 million years ago, and other species existed in Europe in Asia until about 2 million years ago. Mastodon Tooth ( Image Source ) Mastodons had low, ridged teeth that demonst...

Orycteropus afer  is an interesting mammal. Even though they resemble anteaters, they are not actually related. Aardvarks (whose name essentially means "earth pig") are members of their own entire order, which itself is part of the superorder Afrotheria . The closest relatives of the Aarvarks are actually Hyraxes, Sengis , and Elephants! Image Source Aarvarks are medium sizes animals with nearly-hairless bodies and powerful claws which are used for digging at termite mounds. They also have highly specialized snouts that allow them to smell out and then lick up vast quantities of their favorite meals. Aardvarks actually do have teeth , but they grow only at the back of the jaw, have no enamel, and fall out and grow continuously throughout their lives. Aardvarks are solitary, nocturnal animals. During the day they sleep in burrows, and they often dig completely new ones each day. Abandoned burrows can become shelter for many other smaller animals...

Also known as Elephant Shrews, Sengis are small mammals belonging to four genuses within the Macroscelididae Family. They are not actually related to true shrews all that closely, for they belong to a different Family and Order entirely. Because Elephant Shrew is a bit of a misnomer, biologists have been using the name "Sengi," which is their Bantu name. Interestingly, molecular research in recent years show that Sengis could be more closely related to the Elephant and they are to the Shrew. Short Eared Sengis Sengis are found only in Africa. Depending on the species, they live in savannahs and scrublands, as well as dense forests. Some species are diurnal, while others are active during both the day and night. Sengis are carnivores eat a variety of invertebrates, including worms and spiders. A few species will also supplement their invertebrate diet with fruits and other plant matter. They themselves are preyed upon by a wide variety of larger creatures , and as s...