| Stegodontidae Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Stegolophodon cautleyi | |
| |
| Stegodon hunghoensis | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Proboscidea |
| Superfamily: | Elephantoidea |
| Family: | †Stegodontidae Osborn, 1918 |
| Genera | |
Stegodontidae is an extinct family of proboscideans from Africa and Asia (with a single occurrence in Europe) from the Early Miocene (at least 17.3 million years ago[1]) to the Late Pleistocene.[2] It contains two genera, the earlier Stegolophodon, known from the Miocene of Asia and the later Stegodon, from the Late Miocene to Late Pleistocene of Africa and Asia (with a single occurrence in Greece) which is thought to have evolved from the former. The group is noted for their plate-like lophs on their teeth, which are similar to elephants and different from those of other extinct proboscideans like gomphotheres and mammutids, with both groups having a proal jaw movement utilizing forward strokes of the lower jaw. These similarities with modern elephants were probably convergently evolved.[1] Like elephantids, stegodontids are thought to have evolved from gomphothere ancestors.[3]
Taxonomy[edit]
Stegodontidae was named by Osborn (1918). It was assigned to Mammutoidea by Carroll (1988); to Elephantoidea by Lambert and Shoshani (1998); and to Elephantoidea by Shoshani et al. (2006).[4][5] While Stegodon was historically considered an elephant, this is now largely rejected, with the similarities considered to be convergent.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Saegusa, Haruo (March 2020). "Stegodontidae and Anancus: Keys to understanding dental evolution in Elephantidae". Quaternary Science Reviews. 231: 106176. Bibcode:2020QSRv..23106176S. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106176. S2CID 214094348.
- ^ Turvey, Samuel T.; Tong, Haowen; Stuart, Anthony J.; Lister, Adrian M. (2013). "Holocene survival of Late Pleistocene megafauna in China: A critical review of the evidence". Quaternary Science Reviews. 76: 156–166. Bibcode:2013QSRv...76..156T. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.06.030.
- ^ Wu, Yan; Deng, Tao; Hu, Yaowu; Ma, Jiao; Zhou, Xinying; Mao, Limi; Zhang, Hanwen; Ye, Jie; Wang, Shi-Qi (2018-05-16). "A grazing Gomphotherium in Middle Miocene Central Asia, 10 million years prior to the origin of the Elephantidae". Scientific Reports. 8 (1): 7640. Bibcode:2018NatSR...8.7640W. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-25909-4. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 5956065. PMID 29769581.
- ^ R. L. Carroll. 1988. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York 1-698
- ^ J. Shoshani, R. C. Walter, M. Abraha, S. Berhe, P. Tassy, W. J. Sanders, G. H. Marchant, Y. Libsekal, T. Ghirmai and D. Zinner. 2006. A proboscidean from the late Oligocene of Eritrea, a "missing link" between early Elephantiformes and Elephantimorpha, and biogeographic implications. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(46)
Genera of the order Proboscidea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Well, that’s interesting to know that Psilotum nudum are known as whisk ferns. Psilotum nudum is the commoner species of the two. While the P. flaccidum is a rare species and is found in the tropical islands. Both the species are usually epiphytic in habit and grow upon tree ferns. These species may also be terrestrial and grow in humus or in the crevices of the rocks.
View the detailed Guide of Psilotum nudum: Detailed Study Of Psilotum Nudum (Whisk Fern), Classification, Anatomy, Reproduction