Stegodon
Stegodon is a genus of extinct elephants that lived during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs. A dwarf population survived until 12,000 years ago on the Island of Flores. Its name is derived from the Greek words stegein ('to cover') and odοn ('tooth') because of the distinctive ridges on the animal's molars. Stegodon is believed to descend from Gomphotherium, and to be an ancestor of the mammoth, as well as the modern Indian Elephant.
In the Bardia National Park in Nepal, there is a population of Indian Elephants, which due to inbreeding are very similar to the Stegodon and may retain many Stegodon features. However, some dismiss these primitive features as recent mutations rather than atavisms[1] (http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~bz050/HomePage.gne.html). However, the Stegodons survived until 12,000 years ago on the Island of Flores and the possible survival of characteristic Stegodon genes in its direct descendants, the Asian Elephants, and remaining features in isolated populations are very likely.
There are six known species of Stegodon:
- Stegodon airawana
- Stegodon aurorae
- Stegodon ganesha
- Stegodon orientalis
- Stegodon shinshuensis
- Stegodon trigonocephalus