The Fossil Record of Continental Elephants and Mammoths (Mammalia: Proboscidea: Elephantidae) in Greece

Abstract

The proboscidean family Elephantidae has an extensive fossil record in Greece that spans geochronologically from the latest Pliocene to the Late Pleistocene. Five continental species are recognised, four of which are classified in the genus Mammuthus and one in Palaeoloxodon. Palaeoloxodon antiquus is the most common species in terms of number of localities and abundance of fossil specimens. It is present in faunas of Middle and Late Pleistocene age. Mammuthus has a wider biostratigraphic span that covers the whole temporal range of the family in Greece. It is commonly represented by the species Mammuthus meridionalis, which occurs frequently in Lower Pleistocene deposits. Scarce mammoth samples with more primitive morphology are referred to Mammuthus ex gr. rumanus. Remains of the Middle and Late Pleistocene mammoth species, Mammuthus trogontherii and Mammuthus cf. primigenius, respectively, are also infrequent finds, consistent with their cold climatic adaptations that did not favour their expansion to southern regions of Europe. Noteworthy specimens of the Greek fossil record are four skeletons of Palaeoloxodon antiquus (in Amýntaio, Perdíkkas, Grevená, and Marathousa 1) and one of Mammuthus trogontherii (in Loussiká). The new elephantid species or subspecies erected in the past on samples from Greek localities are considered herein as unavailable or invalid.