Sicilian dwarf elephant

Sicilian dwarf elephant (†Palaeoloxodon falconeri (Busk, 1867))

Siculo-Maltese species

 

Order: Proboscidea

Family: Elephantidae

Genus: †Palaeoloxodon

Dimensions: length - 2,2 m (with tusks), height -  80 -100 cm, weight - 160 - 300 kg

Temporal range: during the Late Pleistocene to Holocene (the island of Sicily).

 

Palaeoloxodon falconeri, also known as the Sicilian dwarf elephant , is an extinct Siculo-Maltese species of elephant that was derived from the straight-tusked elephant.

This island-bound elephant was an example of insular dwarfism, with an adult male specimen measured 96.5 cm in shoulder height and weighed about 305 kg, and an adult female specimen measured 80 cm in shoulder height and weighed about 168 kg. P. falconeri's ancestors most likely reached the Mediterranean islands during a period of Pleistocene maximum when the sea levels were around 100 m lower, that significantly reduced distances and opened land bridges in between islands and from and to the mainland.

The belief in cyclopes may have originated in P. falconeri skulls found in Sicily. As early as the 14th century, scholars had noted that the nasal cavity could be mistaken for a singular giant eye socket.