328 IVORY AND THE ELEPHANT 



chain of development from the earHest elephant species 

 clearly defined in the remains, the Elephas planifrons, a 

 type prevailing in the Upper Pliocene. From this earliest 

 variety — the existence of a still earlier Elephas priscus has 

 not been clearly established — there were evolved, during the 

 Upper Pliocene, two Indian forms, the Elephas hysudricus 

 in the east and the Elephas meridionalis in the west. It is 

 from this latter species, or from some of the intermediate 

 forms between it and E. planifrons that, in the Pleistocene 

 period, the European species 'are derived. As a result of 

 the long-continued migrations and of the consequent changes 

 brought about in a long lapse of time by varied climatic 

 and geographic conditions, two main types were evolved in 

 Europe, one inhabiting principally the woods and forests, 

 the Elephas antiquus, and the other the plains and open 

 valleys, the Elephas primigenius. 



The origin of the dwarf -elephant species, of which fossil 

 remains have been found in some Mediterranean islands, is 

 believed by Soergel to have resulted from a progressive 

 degeneration of the full-grown type, owing to the imperfect 

 environment provided by the restricted island territory. 

 This, however, scarcely seems to account for the living 

 dwarf elephants of the Congo region in Africa. Thus, in 

 the case of the extinct Elephas melitensis, we would have a 

 degenerated E. antiquus, while the Elephas cypriotis, of the 

 Island of Cyprus, presents certain features indicating that 

 it was derived from an earlier form of the European elephant, 

 one more closely allied to E. meridionalis. 



In the Pleistocene age the species E. hysudricus gave 

 rise in process of time to the later species Elephas indicus, 

 the immediate ancestor of the Indian elephant of our day. 



That Elephas planifrons cannot be regarded as the im- 

 mediate predecessor of the species Elephas meridionalis 

 and Elephas antiquus is held to be clearly shown by the 



