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Scientists reconstruct prehistoric elephant bones
Source: Agencies |
June 24, 2009, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
INDONESIAN scientists are reconstructing the largest, most complete skeleton of a prehistoric giant elephant ever found in the tropics, a finding that may offer new clues into the largely mysterious origins of its modern Asian cousin.
The prehistoric elephant is believed to have been submerged in quicksand shortly after dying in Java around 200,000 years ago. Its bones - almost perfectly preserved - were discovered by chance in March when an old sand quarry collapsed.
The animal stood four meters tall, five meters long and weighed more than 10 tons - closer in size to the woolly mammoth of the same period than to the great Asian mammals of today.
Animal fossils are rare in the humid, hot climate of the equator because decomposition occurs quickly.
Following a month-long excavation, a team of seven paleontologists from the Geology Museum in Bandung, West Java, set the bones in plaster for the trip back to their office where they will be pieced back together.
"We believe from the shape of its teeth that it was a very primitive elephant," but little else has been verified, said paleontologist Fachroel Aziz, who is heading a 12-strong skeletal reconstruction team.
Scientists agree it is the first time an entire prehistoric elephant skeleton has been unearthed since vertebrate fossil findings began to be recorded in Indonesia in 1863.
"It is very uncommon to discover a fossil like this in a tropical region like Indonesia," said Edi Sunardi, an expert at Indonesia's Pajajaran University in Bandung, West Java. "It apparently was covered by volcanic sediment that protected it from high temperatures, erosion and decay."
The next challenge will be removing the delicate bones from their molds and joining them into a stable, upright structure.
Gert van den Berg, a researcher at Australia's Wollongong University who helped dig up the skeleton, said tests were under way to determine its precise age and species, and that they will help provide details "about when the modern elephants evolved into what they are now."
The prehistoric elephant is believed to have been submerged in quicksand shortly after dying in Java around 200,000 years ago. Its bones - almost perfectly preserved - were discovered by chance in March when an old sand quarry collapsed.
The animal stood four meters tall, five meters long and weighed more than 10 tons - closer in size to the woolly mammoth of the same period than to the great Asian mammals of today.
Animal fossils are rare in the humid, hot climate of the equator because decomposition occurs quickly.
Following a month-long excavation, a team of seven paleontologists from the Geology Museum in Bandung, West Java, set the bones in plaster for the trip back to their office where they will be pieced back together.
"We believe from the shape of its teeth that it was a very primitive elephant," but little else has been verified, said paleontologist Fachroel Aziz, who is heading a 12-strong skeletal reconstruction team.
Scientists agree it is the first time an entire prehistoric elephant skeleton has been unearthed since vertebrate fossil findings began to be recorded in Indonesia in 1863.
"It is very uncommon to discover a fossil like this in a tropical region like Indonesia," said Edi Sunardi, an expert at Indonesia's Pajajaran University in Bandung, West Java. "It apparently was covered by volcanic sediment that protected it from high temperatures, erosion and decay."
The next challenge will be removing the delicate bones from their molds and joining them into a stable, upright structure.
Gert van den Berg, a researcher at Australia's Wollongong University who helped dig up the skeleton, said tests were under way to determine its precise age and species, and that they will help provide details "about when the modern elephants evolved into what they are now."
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