ELEPHANTS, HORSES, AND CAMELS 



173 



many extinct species and the existing Indian elephant. The 

 African elephant is included by some authorities in the same genus 

 and by others in the g(>nus Loxodonta. All may be considered as 

 true elephants. From Asia they probably reached North America 

 during the Pliocene, and Africa during the Pleistocene. In all 

 regions except Africa and Asia they became extinct during the 

 latter period. 



Through the frozen mammoths of Siberia we have detailed 

 knowledge not only of the skeleton but also of the soft parts of 



Fig. 99. — The Woolly Mammoth {Elephas primigenius). (From Lull.) 



these great mammals. The species preserved in this way is 

 Elephas primigenius, the hairy mammoth (Fig. 99). It was pro- 

 vided with a coat of coarse hair covering a close woolly vestiture 

 which enabled it to resist the cold of high latitudes. It ate grasses 

 and the tender parts of trees. Other extinct species include Elephas 

 antiquus and Elephas meridionalis of Europe, and Elephas imperator 

 and Elephas columbi (Fig. 208) of North America, all of which 

 inhabited warmer regions. Primigenius inhal^ited the northern 

 parts of both continents as well as Asia. The chief differences in 

 fossil remains of these animals are the development of the molars 

 and the degree of curvature of the tusks. In Elephas antiquus the 

 latter are nearly straight, while in the Columl^ian elephant they 

 spiralled to such an extent that in old age the tips crossed. Draw- 

 ings on th(» walls of cavei-ns in Europe show that early man was 

 familiar with the mammoths. 



