The origin of elephants and their evolutionary history

Elephants are members of the family Elephantidae and are divided into two types: Asian elephants (Indian elephants) and African elephants. It is characterized by a tall body, a long nose, cylindrical legs, large ears and a large head. Asian elephants originate from the Indian Peninsula and Southeast Asia; African elephants originate from sub-Saharan Africa. Modern elephants evolved from ancestral elephants 50 million years ago.

The ancestor looked like a pig, lived like a hippopotamus, and had no tusks or long trunk. 30 million years ago, a group of ancestral elephants evolved into saber-toothed elephants, and then gradually evolved into modern elephants, namely African elephants and Asian elephants. Their direct ancestors were mammoths.

The history of elephant taming goes back a long way. The ancient stone carvings excavated in the Mohenjoda area of the Indus Valley show docile elephants with blankets on their backs, indicating that elephants were tame and ridden for transport. Legend has it that Yao and Shun of our country once tamed elephants to plow the fields. Fan Chuo of the Tang Dynasty described the farming technology in Xishuangbanna in "Manshu": "Elephants are as big as buffaloes. The local custom is to raise elephants for plowing fields, but still burn their dung."

animal tags： Elephant Proboscidea Elephantidae