Editing Dwarf elephant

{{short description|Prehistoric elephant species}}
[[Image:Elephas skeleton.JPG|right|thumb|''[[Palaeoloxodon falconeri]]'' skeleton cast]]
'''Dwarf elephants''' are prehistoric members of the order [[Proboscidea]] which, through the process of [[allopatric speciation]] on islands, evolved much smaller body sizes (around {{convert|1|-|2.3|m}} shoulder height) in comparison with their immediate ancestors. Dwarf elephants are an example of [[insular dwarfism]], the phenomenon whereby large terrestrial vertebrates (usually mammals) that colonize islands evolve dwarf forms, a phenomenon attributed to adaptation to resource-poor environments and lack of predation and competition.

[[Fossil]] remains of dwarf elephants have been found on the [[Mediterranean]] islands of [[Cyprus]], [[Malta]], [[Crete]], [[Sicily]], [[Sardinia]], the [[Cyclades|Cyclades Islands]] and the [[Dodecanese Islands]], which are mostly members of the genus ''[[Palaeoloxodon]]'', descending from the large {{Convert|4|m|ft}} tall [[straight-tusked elephant]] (''Palaeoloxodon antiquus'') of mainland Europe'','' though two species represent dwarf [[mammoth]]s. Dwarf species of elephants and ''[[Stegodon]]'' have been found on the islands of Indonesia and the Philippines, with dwarfed species of ''Stegodon'' also having been found in Japan. The [[Channel Islands (California)|Channel Islands of California]] once supported the [[pygmy mammoth]], a dwarf species descended from [[Columbian mammoth]]s,<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.nps.gov/chis/learn/historyculture/pygmymammoth.htm | title = The Pygmy Mammoth (U.S. National Park Service) }}</ref> while the [[woolly mammoth]]s that existed on [[Wrangel Island]] north of [[Siberia]] were once considered dwarfs, but are not anymore.

==The Mediterranean islands==
{{Location map many | Mediterranean
  | relief = yes
  | default_width = 500
  | caption = Mediterranean islands with remains of dwarf proboscideans<br />[[Image:Red pog.svg|10px]] genus ''Palaeoloxodon''<br />[[Image:Blue pog.svg|10px]] genus ''Mammuthus''<br />[[Image:Red-blue pog.svg|10px]] both genera present in Crete<br />[[Image:Black pog.svg|10px]] Proboscidean remains from the Cyclades that can't be confidently assigned to a single proboscidean genus or to a dwarf species.<ref name="Athanassiou2019">{{cite journal | doi = 10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.06.028| title = Pleistocene insular Proboscidea of the Eastern Mediterranean: A review and update| journal = Quaternary Science Reviews| volume = 218| pages = 306–321 | year = 2019| last1 = Athanassiou | first1 = A.| last2 = Van der Geer | first2 = A. A. E.| last3 = Lyras | first3 = G. A.| bibcode = 2019QSRv..218..306A| s2cid = 199107354}}</ref>
| label1 = Sardinia
  | pos1 = left
  | mark1 = Blue pog.svg
  | lat1_deg = 40.09
  | lon1_deg = 9.05
| label2 = Favignana
  | pos2 = left
  | lat2_deg = 37.91
  | lon2_deg = 12.32
| label3 = Sicily
  | pos3 = right
  | lat3_deg = 37.60
  | lon3_deg = 14.08
| label4 = Malta
  | pos4 = bottom
  | lat4_deg = 35.89
  | lon4_deg = 14.42
| label5 = Crete
  | pos5 = bottom
  | mark5 = Red-blue pog.svg
  | lat5_deg = 35.20
  | lon5_deg = 24.83
| label6 = Kythnos
  | pos6 = none
  | mark6 = Black pog.svg
  | mark6size = 6
  | lat6_deg = 37.39
  | lon6_deg = 24.42
| label7 = Serifos
  | pos7 = none
  | mark7 = Black pog.svg
  | mark7size = 6
  | lat7_deg = 37.16
  | lon7_deg = 24.48
| label8 = Milos
  | pos8 = none
  | mark8 = Black pog.svg
  | mark8size = 6
  | lat8_deg = 36.69
  | lon8_deg = 24.45
| label9 = Delos
  | pos9 = none
  | mark9size = 6
  | lat9_deg = 37.39
  | lon9_deg = 25.27
| label10 = Paros
  | pos10 = none
  | mark10 = Black pog.svg
  | mark10size = 6
  | lat10_deg = 37.05
  | lon10_deg = 25.18
| label11 = Naxos
  | pos11 = none
  | mark11size = 6
  | lat11_deg = 37.05
  | lon11_deg = 25.47
| label12 = Astypalaia
  | pos12 = none
  | lat12_deg = 36.58
  | lon12_deg = 26.38
| label13 = Kasos
  | pos13 = right
  | lat13_deg = 35.39
  | lon13_deg = 26.92
| label14 = Tilos
  | pos14 = none
  | lat14_deg = 36.43
  | lon14_deg = 27.37
| label15 = Rhodes
  | pos15 = right
  | lat15_deg = 36.20
  | lon15_deg = 27.97
| label16 = Cyprus
  | pos16 = bottom
  | lat16_deg = 35.03
  | lon16_deg = 33.23
}}
[[File:Palaeoloxodon falconeri Size Comparison.svg|left|thumb|Size comparison of the Sicilian species ''[[Palaeoloxodon falconeri]]'', one of the smallest dwarf elephants, compared to a human]]
Dwarf elephants first inhabited the Mediterranean islands during the [[Pleistocene]], including all the major islands with the apparent exception of [[Corsica]] and the [[Balearic Islands|Balearics]]. Mediterranean dwarf elephants have generally been considered as members of the genus ''[[Palaeoloxodon]]'', derived from the continental [[straight-tusked elephant]], ''Palaeoloxodon antiquus'' ([[Hugh Falconer|Falconer]] & [[Proby Cautley|Cautley]], 1847), [[Synonym (taxonomy)|Syn.]]: ''Elephas antiquus''. An exception is the dwarf Middle-Late Pleistocene Sardinian [[mammoth]], ''[[Mammuthus lamarmorai]]'' (Major, 1883), the first endemic elephant of the Mediterranean islands recognized as belonging to the mammoth line. ''[[Mammuthus creticus]]'' from the Early Pleistocene of Crete, formerly considered a member of ''Palaeoloxodon'', is now also considered to be a mammoth, and approaches the size of the smallest dwarf elephants.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Herridge |first1=Victoria L. |last2=Lister |first2=Adrian M. |date=2012-05-09 |title=Extreme insular dwarfism evolved in a mammoth |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.0671 |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=279 |issue=1741 |pages=3193–3200 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2012.0671 |pmid=22572206 |pmc=3385739 |issn=0962-8452}}</ref>

During low sea levels, the Mediterranean islands were colonised again and again, giving rise, sometimes on the same island, to several species (or subspecies) of different body sizes. The island of Sicily appears to have been colonised by proboscideans in at least two separate waves of colonisation. These endemic dwarf elephants were taxonomically different on each island or group of very close islands, like the Cyclades archipelago.

There are many uncertainties about the time of colonisation, the phylogenetic relationships and the taxonomic status of dwarf elephants on the Mediterranean islands. Extinction of the insular dwarf elephants has not been correlated with the arrival of humans to the islands, with the exception of ''[[Palaeoloxodon cypriotes]]'' on Cyprus, which survived until human colonisation of the island around 12,000 years ago.

Palaeontologist [[Othenio Abel]] proposed in 1914 that the finding of skeletons of such elephants sparked the idea that they belonged to giant one-eyed monsters, because the center nasal opening was thought to be the socket of a single eye, and thus perhaps were, for example, the origin of the one-eyed [[Cyclopes]] of [[Greek mythology]].<ref>Abel's surmise is noted by [[Adrienne Mayor]] in ''The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman Times'' (Princeton University Press) 2000. [See illus. ed., 2001: {{ISBN|0691089779}}]</ref> While this claim has been widely been repeated, it has been criticised for lacking evidence.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Witton |first1=Mark P. |last2=Hing |first2=Richard A. |date=June 2024 |title=Did the horned dinosaur Protoceratops inspire the griffin? |journal=Interdisciplinary Science Reviews |language=en |volume=49 |issue=3–4 |pages=363–388 |doi=10.1177/03080188241255543 |issn=0308-0188|doi-access=free }}</ref>
[[File:Mammuthus lamarmorai.png|thumb|Size comparison of dwarf Sardinian mammoth ''[[Mammuthus lamarmorai]]'' compared to a human]]

===Italy and Malta===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Island !! Taxon !! Author
|-
| [[Sardinia]] || ''[[Mammuthus lamarmorai]]'' || ({{Smallcaps|Major}}, 1883)
|-
| rowspan="2" style="background: lightblue" | [[Malta]] || ''[[Palaeoloxodon falconeri]]'' || ({{Smallcaps|Busk}}, 1869)
|-
| ''[[Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis]]'' || ({{Smallcaps|Adams}}, 1874)
|-
| rowspan="2" style="background: lightblue" | [[Sicily]] || ''[[Palaeoloxodon falconeri]]'' || ({{Smallcaps|Busk}}, 1869)
|-
| ''[[Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis|Palaeoloxodon cf. mnaidriensis]]'' || ({{Smallcaps|Adams}}, 1874)
|}{{legend|lightblue|connected during [[Last Glacial Maximum|LGM]]<ref name="Palombo2020">{{cite journal | doi = 10.1080/08912963.2020.1772251| title = Was the dwarfed ''Palaeoloxodon'' from Favignana Island the last endemic Pleistocene elephant from the western Mediterranean islands?| journal = Historical Biology| pages = 1–19 | year = 2020| last1 = Palombo | first1 = M. R.| last2 = Antonioli | first2 = F.| last3 = Di Patti | first3 = C.| last4 = Presti | first4 = V. L.| last5 = Scarborough | first5 = M. E.| volume = 33| issue = 10| s2cid = 225710152}}</ref>}}
Sicily and Malta were inhabited by two successive waves of dwarf elephants derived from ''P. antiquus,'' which first arrived on the islands at least 500,000 years ago. The first of these species is ''[[Palaeoloxodon falconeri|P. falconeri]] ,'' which is one of the smallest dwarf elephant species at around {{Convert|1|m|ft}} tall, and was strongly modified from its ancestor in numerous aspects, which lived in a depauperate fauna with no other large mammal species.''<ref name=":02">Bonfiglio, L., Marra, A. C., Masini, F., Pavia, M., & Petruso, D. (2002). [https://iris.unito.it/bitstream/2318/91517/1/18%20-%20Bonfiglio%20et%20al%202002%20Sicily%20A%20Review%20BAR.pdf Pleistocene faunas of Sicily: a review]. In W. H. Waldren, & J. A. Ensenyat (Eds.), ''World islands in prehistory: international insular investigations''. British Archaeological Reports, International Series, 1095, 428–436.</ref>''<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal |last=Scarborough |first=Matthew Edward |date=March 2022 |title=Extreme Body Size Variation in Pleistocene Dwarf Elephants from the Siculo-Maltese Palaeoarchipelago: Disentangling the Causes in Time and Space |journal=Quaternary |language=en |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=17 |doi=10.3390/quat5010017 |issn=2571-550X |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free |hdl=11427/36354}}</ref> Later, around 200,000 years ago, this species was replaced by a second colonisation by ''P. antiquus'', which gave rise to the larger (though still considerably dwarfed) {{Convert|2|m|ft}} tall species ''[[Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis|P. mnaidriensis]],'' which on Sicily lived alongside a number other large mammal species, including herbivores and carnivores.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=Baleka |first1=Sina |last2=Herridge |first2=Victoria L. |last3=Catalano |first3=Giulio |last4=Lister |first4=Adrian M. |last5=Dickinson |first5=Marc R. |last6=Di Patti |first6=Carolina |last7=Barlow |first7=Axel |last8=Penkman |first8=Kirsty E.H. |last9=Hofreiter |first9=Michael |last10=Paijmans |first10=Johanna L.A. |date=August 2021 |title=Estimating the dwarfing rate of an extinct Sicilian elephant |journal=Current Biology |language=en |volume=31 |issue=16 |pages=3606–3612.e7 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.037 |pmid=34146486 |s2cid=235477150 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":122">{{Cite journal |last1=Bethune |first1=Elehna |last2=Kaiser |first2=Thomas M. |last3=Schulz-Kornas |first3=Ellen |last4=Winkler |first4=Daniela E. |date=November 2019 |title=Multiproxy dietary trait reconstruction in Pleistocene Hippopotamidae from the Mediterranean islands |url=https://zenodo.org/record/3248597 |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |language=en |volume=533 |pages=109210 |bibcode=2019PPP...533j9210B |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.05.032 |s2cid=181824675}}</ref> The youngest records of this species on Sicily date to around 20,000 years ago, close to the time of arrival of modern humans on Sicily.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Palombo |first1=Maria Rita |last2=Antonioli |first2=Fabrizio |last3=Di Patti |first3=Carolina |last4=Valeria |first4=Lo Presti |last5=Scarborough |first5=Matthew E. |date=2021-10-03 |title=Was the dwarfed Palaeoloxodon from Favignana Island the last endemic Pleistocene elephant from the western Mediterranean islands? |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2020.1772251 |journal=Historical Biology |language=en |volume=33 |issue=10 |pages=2116–2134 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2020.1772251 |issn=0891-2963 |s2cid=225710152|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The dwarf mammoth species ''[[Mammuthus lamarmorai]]'' descended from [[steppe mammoth]]s (''Mammuthus trogontherii'') that colonised Sardinia sometime after 450,000 years ago. It is suggested to have survived into the Last Glacial Period, until at least 60-30,000 years ago.<ref name=":14">{{Cite journal |last1=Palombo |first1=Maria Rita |last2=Zedda |first2=Marco |last3=Zoboli |first3=Daniel |date=March 2024 |title=The Sardinian Mammoth's Evolutionary History: Lights and Shadows |journal=Quaternary |language=en |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=10 |doi=10.3390/quat7010010 |issn=2571-550X |doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Greece===
====Crete====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Island !! Taxon !! Author
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Crete]] || ''[[Mammuthus creticus]]'' || ({{Smallcaps|Bate}}, 1907)
|-
| ''[[Palaeoloxodon creutzburgi]]'' || ({{Smallcaps|Kuss}}, 1965)
|}

''[[Mammuthus creticus]]'' is known from remains probably dating to the [[Early Pleistocene]]. It likely descends from ''[[Mammuthus meridionalis]]''. It is the smallest mammoth<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Herridge |first1=V. L. |last2=Lister |first2=A. M. |year=2012 |title=Extreme insular dwarfism evolved in a mammoth |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=279 |issue=1741 |pages=3193–3300 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2012.0671 |pmc=3385739 |pmid=22572206}}</ref> and is among the smallest dwarf elephants known, with a shoulder height of about {{Convert|1|m|ft}} and a weight of about {{Convert|180|kg|lb}}.<ref name="proboscideans" /> ''[[Palaeoloxodon creutzburgi]]'' from the Middle Pleistocene and Late Pleistocene is significantly larger, with an estimated body mass comparable to living Asian elephant, around 40% the size of its mainland ancestor.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Athanassiou |first1=Athanassios |last2=van der Geer |first2=Alexandra A.E. |last3=Lyras |first3=George A. |date=August 2019 |title=Pleistocene insular Proboscidea of the Eastern Mediterranean: A review and update |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379119300848 |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |language=en |volume=218 |pages=306–321 |bibcode=2019QSRv..218..306A |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.06.028 |s2cid=199107354|url-access=subscription }}</ref><!-- http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2012/05/04/rspb.2012.0671 -->

====Cyclades====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Island !! Taxon !! Author
|-
| style="background: lightgreen" | [[Delos]] || ''Palaeoloxodon'' sp. || {{Smallcaps|Vaufrey}}, 1929
|-
| style="background: lightgreen" | [[Naxos]] || ''[[Palaeoloxodon lomolinoi]]'' || {{Smallcaps|Van der Geer}} et al., 2014<ref name="VanderGeer2014">{{cite journal | doi = 10.1016/j.palaeo.2014.04.003| title = A dwarf elephant and a rock mouse on Naxos (Cyclades, Greece) with a revision of the palaeozoogeography of the Cycladic Islands (Greece) during the Pleistocene| journal = Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology| volume = 404| pages = 133–144 | year = 2014| last1 = Van der Geer | first1 = A. A. E.| last2 = Lyras | first2 = G. A.| last3 = Van den Hoek Ostende | first3 = L. W.| last4 = De Vos | first4 = J.| last5 = Drinia | first5 = H.| hdl = 10795/3263| url = http://repository.edulll.gr/3263| hdl-access = free}}</ref>
|-
| style="background: lightgreen" | [[Paros]] || Elephantidae indet. || {{Smallcaps|Georgalas}}, 1929
|-
| [[Kythnos]] || Elephantidae indet. || {{Smallcaps|Honea}}, 1975
|-
| [[Milos]] || Elephantidae indet. || {{Smallcaps|Papp}}, 1953
|-
| [[Serifos]] || Elephantidae indet. || {{Smallcaps|Papp}}, 1953
|}

{{legend|lightgreen|connected during LGM<ref name="VanderGeer2014"/>}}

Remains of dwarf elephants have been briefly reported from [[Paros]], [[Milos]] and [[Serifos]] in historical publications, but these lack any detailed information.<ref name=":0" />

On [[Kythnos|Kýthnos]], the remains of a dwarf elephant were reported in a 1975 publication to be found associated with lithic artefacts. The age of the find was considered to be uncertain, likely older than 9,000 years, but could not be dated precisely due to a lack of collagen. Additionally, an isolated tusk was reported from the northwest of the island.<ref name=":0" />

On [[Delos]], an indeterminate dwarf elephant known from a third molar was reported in 1908. This specimen clearly belongs to a dwarf species, but it is difficult to quantify its size precisely.<ref name=":0" /> On [[Naxos]] the species ''Palaeoloxodon lomolinoi'' has been described based on a partial skull including the maxilla bones and third molar teeth found near the Trypiti river, of probable Late Pleistocene age.''<ref name="VanderGeer2014" />'' It is estimated to be around 8% the size of ''P. antiquus'', and had a smaller body size than that represented by the dwarf elephant from Delos. The Eastern Cyclades islands of Delos, [[Naxos]], and Paros were connected during the [[Last Glacial Period]], which suggests that the Delos species and ''P. lomolinoi'' were not contemporaneous, with the former possibly being the ancestor of the latter, though nothing can be said for certain.<ref name=":0" />

====Dodecanese====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Island !! Taxon !! Author
|-
| [[Astypalaia]] || ''Palaeoloxodon'' sp. || {{Smallcaps|Athanassiou}} et al., 2019<ref name="Athanassiou2019"/>
|-
| [[Kasos]] || ''Palaeoloxodon'' [[Species affinis|aff.]] ''creutzburgi'' || {{Smallcaps|Sen}} et al., 2014<ref name=":4">{{cite journal | doi = 10.5735/086.051.0204| title = Late Pleistocene Dwarf Elephants from the Aegean Islands of Kassos and Dilos, Greece| journal = Annales Zoologici Fennici| volume = 51| pages = 27–42 | year = 2014| last1 = Sen | first1 = S.| last2 = Barrier | first2 = E.| last3 = Crété | first3 = X.| issue = 1–2| s2cid = 85190966}}</ref>
|-
| [[Rhodes]] || ''Palaeoloxodon'' sp. || {{Smallcaps|Symeonides}} et al., 1974
|-
| [[Tilos]] || ''[[Palaeoloxodon tiliensis]]'' || ({{Smallcaps|Theodorou}} et al. 2007)<ref name=Theodorou2007>{{cite journal |author1=Theodorou, G.E. |author2=Symeonides, N. |author3=Stathopoulou, E. | year = 2007 | title = ''Elephas tiliensis'' n. sp. from Tilos island (Dodecanese, Greece) | journal = Hellenic Journal of Geosciences | volume = 42 | pages = 19–32}}</ref>
|}

On [[Rhodes]], bones of an unnamed endemic dwarf elephant have been discovered in cave deposits on the east coast. This elephant was similar in size to ''Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis'' (to which its remains were originally attributed), around 20% the size of its mainland ancestor (with an estimated weight of around {{Convert|1500|kg}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sen |first=Sevket |date=2017-08-01 |title=A review of the Pleistocene dwarfed elephants from the Aegean islands, and their paleogeographic context |url=http://fi.nm.cz/clanek/a-review-of-the-pleistocene-dwarfed-elephants-from-the-aegean-islands-and-their-paleogeographic-context-3/ |journal=Fossil Imprint |volume=73 |issue=1–2 |pages=76–92 |doi=10.2478/if-2017-0004 |issn=2533-4069}}</ref>). The remains, though temporally poorly constrained, are suggested to be Late Pleistocene age.<ref name=":0" /> Possible tracks produced by these dwarf elephants have been reported from the southwest of the island.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Milàn |first1=Jesper |title=A Diverse Vertebrate Ichnofauna from a Quaternary Eolian Oolite, Rhodes, Greece |date=2007 |work=Sediment–Organism InteractionsA Multifaceted Ichnology |url=https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/1190/chapter/10726536 |access-date=2024-06-20 |publisher=SEPM Society for Sedimentary Geology |language=en |doi=10.2110/pec.07.88.0333 |isbn=978-1-56576-129-2 |last2=Bromley |first2=Richard G. |last3=Titschack |first3=Jürgen |last4=Theodorou |first4=Georgios}}</ref>
[[File:Palaeoloxodon tiliensis.svg|thumb|Size of ''[[Palaeoloxodon tiliensis]]'' compared to humans]]
On [[Tilos]], the species ''[[Palaeoloxodon tiliensis]]'' has been described from remains found in Charkadio cave.<ref>G. Theodorou, N. Symeonidis, E. Stathopoulou ''Elephas tiliensis'' n. sp. from Tilos island (Dodecanese, Greece) Hell. J. Geosci., 42 (2007), pp. 19-32</ref> This species was medium-sized, around 10% the size of ''P. antiquus'', with a shoulder height of up to {{Convert|1.9|m|ft}}, with a body mass of {{Convert|630–890|kg|lb}}. Remains of the species are suggested to date to Late Pleistocene. Radiocarbon dating done in the 1970s suggested that the species survived until around 3,500 years ago, which would make the latest surviving ''Palaeoloxodon'' species and the youngest elephant in Europe, but these dates are tentative and await corroboration by other research.<ref name=":0" />

On [[Astypalaia]], a single tusk of a dwarf elephant of unknown age was excavated in the late 1990s. Due to the isolated status of the island it very likely represents an endemic species. Though the size of the animal is difficult to constrain precisely, it was probably similar in size to ''P. tiliensis''.<ref name=":0" />

On [[Kasos]], which during the Pleistocene was connected with the islands of [[Karpathos]] and [[Saria Island|Saria]], a single dwarf ''Palaeoloxodon'' molar has been found. Due to the tooth closely resembling those of the species ''P. creutzburgi'' from Crete (which is adjacent to Kasos) in size and shape, it has been referred to as ''P.'' [[Species affinis|aff.]] ''creutzburgi.''<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":0" />

===Cyprus===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Island !! Taxon !! Author
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[Cyprus]] || ''[[Cyprus dwarf elephant|Palaeoloxodon cypriotes]]'' || ({{Smallcaps|Bate}}, 1903)<ref name="Bate1903">Bate, D. M. A.: ''Preliminary Note on the Discovery of a Pigmy Elephant in the Pleistocene of Cyprus'' in ''Proceedings of the Royal Society of London'' Vol. 71 (1902 - 1903), pp. 498-500</ref>
|-
| ''[[Palaeoloxodon xylophagou]]'' || {{Smallcaps|Athanassiou}} et al., 2015<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1016/j.quaint.2015.05.065| title = Cranial evidence for the presence of a second endemic elephant species on Cyprus| journal = Quaternary International| volume = 379| pages = 47–57 | year = 2015| last1 = Athanassiou | first1 = A.| last2 = Herridge | first2 = V.| last3 = Reese | first3 = D. S.| last4 = Iliopoulos | first4 = G.| last5 = Roussiakis | first5 = S.| last6 = Mitsopoulou | first6 = V.| last7 = Tsiolakis | first7 = E.| last8 = Theodorou | first8 = G.}}</ref>
|}

The [[Cyprus dwarf elephant]] (''Palaeoloxodon cypriotes'') survived at least until 12,000 years ago, around the time of arrival of modern humans to Cyprus (who may have hunted it), making it one of the latest surviving dwarf elephants. It is also one of the smallest dwarf elephant species, comparable in size to ''P. falconeri'', with an estimated shoulder height of {{Convert|1|m|ft}}. The species likely evolved from the earlier larger (though still strongly dwarfed) ''Palaeoloxodon xylophagou'' known from fossils dating to around 200,000 years ago.<ref name=":13">{{Cite journal |last1=Athanassiou |first1=Athanassios |last2=Herridge |first2=Victoria |last3=Reese |first3=David S. |last4=Iliopoulos |first4=George |last5=Roussiakis |first5=Socrates |last6=Mitsopoulou |first6=Vassiliki |last7=Tsiolakis |first7=Efthymios |last8=Theodorou |first8=George |date=August 2015 |title=Cranial evidence for the presence of a second endemic elephant species on Cyprus |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1040618215005856 |journal=Quaternary International |language=en |volume=379 |pages=47–57 |bibcode=2015QuInt.379...47A |doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2015.05.065|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Remains of the species were first discovered and recorded by [[Dorothea Bate]] in a cave in the [[Kyrenia]] hills of northern [[Cyprus]] in 1902 and reported in 1903.<ref name="Bate1903"/><ref>Dorothea Bate, ''Cyprus work diary 1901–02'', 3 volumes, Natural History Museum's earth sciences library, palaeontology MSS</ref>

==The Channel Islands of California==
[[File:M._exilis_skeletal.png|thumb|Skeletal restoration of the [[pygmy mammoth]] (''Mammuthus exilis'') showing size compared to a human]]
A population of the [[Mammoth|Columbian mammoth]] (''Mammuthus columbi'') arrived on the northern [[Channel Islands of California]] during the late Middle Pleistocene, around 250-150,000 years ago, giving rise to a dwarfed species, the [[pygmy mammoth]] (''Mammuthus exilis''). Channel Islands mammoths ranged from {{convert|150|–|190|cm|abbr=on}} in shoulder height. These mammoths became extinct around 13,000 years ago, around the time of arrival of modern humans to the islands.<ref name=":03">{{Cite journal |last1=Muhs |first1=Daniel R. |last2=Simmons |first2=Kathleen R. |last3=Groves |first3=Lindsey T. |last4=McGeehin |first4=John P. |last5=Randall Schumann |first5=R. |last6=Agenbroad |first6=Larry D. |date=May 2015 |title=Late Quaternary sea-level history and the antiquity of mammoths ( Mammuthus exilis and Mammuthus columbi ), Channel Islands National Park, California, USA |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S003358940000096X/type/journal_article |journal=Quaternary Research |language=en |volume=83 |issue=3 |pages=502–521 |bibcode=2015QuRes..83..502M |doi=10.1016/j.yqres.2015.03.001 |issn=0033-5894|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":15">{{Cite journal |last1=Semprebon |first1=Gina M. |last2=Rivals |first2=Florent |last3=Fahlke |first3=Julia M. |last4=Sanders |first4=William J. |last5=Lister |first5=Adrian M. |last6=Göhlich |first6=Ursula B. |date=June 2016 |title=Dietary reconstruction of pygmy mammoths from Santa Rosa Island of California |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1040618215014020 |journal=Quaternary International |language=en |volume=406 |pages=123–136 |bibcode=2016QuInt.406..123S |doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2015.10.120|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Indonesia and the Philippines==
In Indonesia and the Philippines, evidence of a succession of distinct endemic island faunas has been found, including dwarfed elephants and species of ''[[Stegodon]]''.

===Flores===
[[File:Dwarf stegodon size comparison.svg|thumb|300x300px|Size comparison of dwarf Flores ''Stegodon'' species compared to a human]]
During the late Early Pleistocene, Flores was inhabited by the dwarf species ''Stegodon sondaarii'', around 15% of the size of mainland ''Stegodon'' species, which was around {{convert|120|cm|ft||abbr=on}} tall at the shoulder and weighed about {{Convert|350-400|kg|lb}}. This species became extinct around 1 million years ago,<ref name="proboscideans">{{Cite journal |last1=Larramendi |first1=A. |year=2016 |title=Shoulder height, body mass and shape of proboscideans |url=https://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app61/app001362014.pdf |journal=Acta Palaeontologica Polonica |volume=61 |doi=10.4202/app.00136.2014 |s2cid=2092950}}</ref><ref name="van den Bergh-2022" /><ref name="Geer-2016" /> being replaced by ''Stegodon florensis. Stegodon florensis'' shows a progressive size reduction with time, with the earlier Middle Pleistocene subspecies ''Stegodon florensis florensis'' estimated to be around 50% the size of mainland ''Stegodon'' species with a shoulder height of around {{convert|190|cm|ft||abbr=on}} and a body mass of around 1.7 tons, while the later ''Stegodon florensis insularis'' from the Late Pleistocene is estimated to be around 17% the size of mainland ''Stegodon'' species, with a shoulder height of around {{convert|130|cm|ft||abbr=on}}, and a body mass of about {{Convert|570|kg|lb}}<ref name="Geer-2016" /><ref>Puspaningrum, Mika; Van Den Bergh, Gerrit; Chivas, Allan; Setiabudi, Erick; Kurniawan, Iwan; Brumm, Adam; and Sutikna, Thomas, "[https://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/2035 Preliminary results of dietary and environmental reconstructions of Early to Middle Pleistocene Stegodons from the So'a Basin of Flores, Indonesia, based on enamel stable isotope records]" (2014). Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A. 2035.</ref> ''Stegodon florensis'' became extinct about 50,000 years ago, around the time of the arrival of modern humans to Flores.<ref name="van den Bergh-2022">{{Cite journal |last1=van den Bergh |first1=Gerrit D. |last2=Alloway |first2=Brent V. |last3=Storey |first3=Michael |last4=Setiawan |first4=Ruly |last5=Yurnaldi |first5=Dida |last6=Kurniawan |first6=Iwan |last7=Moore |first7=Mark W. |last8=Jatmiko |last9=Brumm |first9=Adam |last10=Flude |first10=Stephanie |last11=Sutikna |first11=Thomas |last12=Setiyabudi |first12=Erick |last13=Prasetyo |first13=Unggul W. |last14=Puspaningrum |first14=Mika R. |last15=Yoga |first15=Ifan |date=October 2022 |title=An integrative geochronological framework for the Pleistocene So'a basin (Flores, Indonesia), and its implications for faunal turnover and hominin arrival |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379122003523 |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |language=en |volume=294 |pages=107721 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107721|hdl=10072/418777 |s2cid=252290750 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

===Sulawesi===
During the Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene on Sulawesi, two species of dwarf proboscidean coinhabited the island, the elephant [[Stegoloxodon|''Stegoloxodon celebensis'']], and ''Stegodon sompoensis.<ref name="Vos-2007">{{Citation |last1=Vos |first1=John de |title=Patterns in Insular Evolution of Mammals: A Key to Island Palaeogeography |date=2007 |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-1-4020-6374-9_10 |work=Biogeography, Time, and Place: Distributions, Barriers, and Islands |volume=29 |pages=315–345 |editor-last=Renema |editor-first=Willem |access-date=2023-08-10 |place=Dordrecht |publisher=Springer Netherlands |doi=10.1007/978-1-4020-6374-9_10 |isbn=978-1-4020-6373-2 |last2=Ostende |first2=Lars W. van den Hoek |last3=Bergh |first3=Gert D. van den|series=Topics in Geobiology |url-access=subscription }}</ref>'' The former was about {{convert|150|cm|ft||abbr=on}} tall,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Alink |first1=Gerrit |last2=Adhityatama |first2=Shinatria |last3=Simanjuntak |first3=Truman |date=2017-12-29 |title=The Descriptive Analysis of Palaeolithic Stone Tools from Sulawesi, Collected by the Indonesian-Dutch Expedition in 1970 |url=http://jurnalarkeologi.kemdikbud.go.id/index.php/amerta/article/view/252 |journal=AMERTA |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=75 |doi=10.24832/amt.v35i2.252|doi-access=free }}</ref> while the latter was around 32% the size of mainland ''Stegodon'' species, with an estimated body mass of about a ton.<ref name="Geer-2016" /> Later in the Pleistocene, these animals were replaced by larger-sized species of ''Stegodon'' and elephants,<ref name="Vos-2007" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brumm |first1=Adam |last2=Hakim |first2=Budianto |last3=Ramli |first3=Muhammad |last4=Aubert |first4=Maxime |last5=van den Bergh |first5=Gerrit D. |last6=Li |first6=Bo |last7=Burhan |first7=Basran |last8=Saiful |first8=Andi Muhammad |last9=Siagian |first9=Linda |last10=Sardi |first10=Ratno |last11=Jusdi |first11=Andi |last12=Abdullah |last13=Mubarak |first13=Andi Pampang |last14=Moore |first14=Mark W. |last15=Roberts |first15=Richard G. |date=2018-04-11 |editor-last=Hardy |editor-first=Karen |title=A reassessment of the early archaeological record at Leang Burung 2, a Late Pleistocene rock-shelter site on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=e0193025 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0193025 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=5894965 |pmid=29641524 |doi-access=free }}</ref> with an indeterminate ''Stegodon'' species from the Middle Pleistocene of Sulawesi being around 57% the size of mainland species, with an estimated bodymass of about 2 tons.<ref name="Geer-2016" />

===Java===
The species ''Stegodon trigonocephalus'' is known from the Early-Middle Pleistocene of Java.<ref name="Puspaningrum-2020">{{Cite journal |last1=Puspaningrum |first1=Mika R. |last2=van den Bergh |first2=Gerrit D. |last3=Chivas |first3=Allan R. |last4=Setiabudi |first4=Erick |last5=Kurniawan |first5=Iwan |date=January 2020 |title=Isotopic reconstruction of Proboscidean habitats and diets on Java since the Early Pleistocene: Implications for adaptation and extinction |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379119303178 |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |language=en |volume=228 |pages=106007 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106007|s2cid=212876762 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> A population from the Trinil H.K locality, which likely dates to the Middle Pleistocene,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=L. Hilgen |first1=Sander |last2=Pop |first2=Eduard |last3=Adhityatama |first3=Shinatria |last4=A. Veldkamp |first4=Tom |last5=W.K. Berghuis |first5=Harold |last6=Sutisna |first6=Indra |last7=Yurnaldi |first7=Dida |last8=Dupont-Nivet |first8=Guillaume |last9=Reimann |first9=Tony |last10=Nowaczyk |first10=Norbert |last11=F. Kuiper |first11=Klaudia |last12=Krijgsman |first12=Wout |last13=B. Vonhof |first13=Hubert |last14=Ekowati |first14=Dian Rahayu |last15=Alink |first15=Gerrit |date=February 2023 |title=Revised age and stratigraphy of the classic Homo erectus-bearing succession at Trinil (Java, Indonesia) |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |language=en |volume=301 |pages=107908 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107908|doi-access=free |hdl=1887/3515249 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> is around 65% the size of mainland ''Stegodon'' species.<ref name="Geer-2016" /> Large individuals are estimated to have reached around {{convert|280|cm|ft||abbr=on}} at the shoulders, with a body mass of around 5 tons.<ref name="proboscideans" /> Other smaller unnamed ''Stegodon'' species are also known from the Early Pleistocene on the island.<ref name="Puspaningrum-2020" /> The extinct dwarf elephant species [[Stegoloxodon|''Stegoloxodon indonesicus'']] is also known from the Early Pleistocene of Java, which is probably closely related to ''S.  celebensis'' from Sulawesi, but whose relationships to other elephants are obscure.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Markov |first1=Georgi N. |last2=Saegusa |first2=Haruo |date=2008-09-01 |title=On the validity of Stegoloxodon Kretzoi, 1950 (Mammalia: Proboscidea) |url=https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.1861.1.5 |journal=Zootaxa |volume=1861 |issue=1 |pages=55 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.1861.1.5 |issn=1175-5334|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Puspaningrum-2020" />

=== Sumba ===
The species ''Stegodon sumbaensis'' of an uncertain Middle-Late Pleistocene age from [[Sumba]] is one the smallest known species, at around 8% of the size of its mainland ancestor, with an estimated body mass of around {{Convert|250|kg|lb}}.<ref name="Geer-2016" />

=== Timor ===
The species ''Stegodon timorensis'' is known from the Middle Pleistocene of Timor. It is a small-sized species, only slightly larger than ''S. sondaarii,''<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Louys |first1=Julien |last2=Price |first2=Gilbert J. |last3=O’Connor |first3=Sue |date=2016-03-10 |title=Direct dating of Pleistocene stegodon from Timor Island, East Nusa Tenggara |journal=PeerJ |language=en |volume=4 |pages=e1788 |doi=10.7717/peerj.1788 |pmid=26989625 |issn=2167-8359|pmc=4793331 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and around 23% the size of mainland species, with an estimated body mass of around {{Convert|770|kg|lb}}.<ref name="Geer-2016" />

=== Luzon ===
On [[Luzon]] the dwarf ''Stegodon luzonensis'' is known from remains found in the Manila Basin of an uncertain Pleistocene age,<ref>von Koenigswald GHR. 1956. Fossil mammals from the Philippines. Quezon City: National Research Council of the Philippines, 1–14</ref> as well as remains found near the early Middle Pleistocene ''[[Nesorhinus]]'' butchery site dating to around 700,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ingicco |first1=T. |last2=van den Bergh |first2=G. D. |last3=Jago-on |first3=C. |last4=Bahain |first4=J.-J. |last5=Chacón |first5=M. G. |last6=Amano |first6=N. |last7=Forestier |first7=H. |last8=King |first8=C. |last9=Manalo |first9=K. |last10=Nomade |first10=S. |last11=Pereira |first11=A. |last12=Reyes |first12=M. C. |last13=Sémah |first13=A.-M. |last14=Shao |first14=Q. |last15=Voinchet |first15=P. |date=May 2018 |title=Earliest known hominin activity in the Philippines by 709 thousand years ago |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0072-8 |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=557 |issue=7704 |pages=233–237 |doi=10.1038/s41586-018-0072-8 |pmid=29720661 |s2cid=13742336 |issn=0028-0836}}</ref> It is around 40% the size of mainland ''Stegodon'' species, with a body mass of around 1.3 tons.<ref name="Geer-2016" /> Though the temporal span of ''Stegodon'' on Luzon is not well constrained due to the limited number of finds, remains are suggested to span from at least around 1-0.8 million years ago to around 400,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lambard |first1=Jean-Baptiste |last2=Pereira |first2=Alison |last3=Voinchet |first3=Pierre |last4=Guillou |first4=Hervé |last5=Reyes |first5=Marian C. |last6=Nomade |first6=Sébastien |last7=Gallet |first7=Xavier |last8=Belarmino |first8=Maricar |last9=Bahain |first9=Jean-Jacques |last10=De Vos |first10=John |last11=Falguères |first11=Christophe |last12=Cosalan |first12=Andrea |last13=Ingicco |first13=Thomas |date=October 2024 |title=Geochronological advances in human and proboscideans first arrival date in the Philippines archipelago (Cagayan valley, Luzon Island) |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1871101424001018 |journal=Quaternary Geochronology |language=en |volume=84 |pages=101597 |doi=10.1016/j.quageo.2024.101597|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The extinct dwarf elephant ''[[Elephas beyeri]]'' is also known from the island of an unknown (probably Pleistocene) age,<ref name="Geer-2016">{{Cite journal |last1=Geer |first1=Alexandra A. E. |last2=Bergh |first2=Gerrit D. |last3=Lyras |first3=George A. |last4=Prasetyo |first4=Unggul W. |last5=Due |first5=Rokus Awe |last6=Setiyabudi |first6=Erick |last7=Drinia |first7=Hara |date=August 2016 |title=The effect of area and isolation on insular dwarf proboscideans |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jbi.12743 |journal=Journal of Biogeography |language=en |volume=43 |issue=8 |pages=1656–1666 |doi=10.1111/jbi.12743 |s2cid=87958022 |issn=0305-0270}}</ref> which is estimated to have been about {{Convert|1.2|m|ft}} in shoulder height.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Koenigswald |first=G.H.R. |date=1956 |title=Fossil mammals from the Philippines |journal=Proceedings of the Fourth Far-Eastern Prehistory Congress}}</ref>

=== Mindanao ===
On the island of [[Mindanao]], the dwarf ''Stegodon'' species ''Stegodon mindanensis'' was present at some point in the Pleistocene. It has an estimated body mass of around {{Convert|400|kg|lb}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ong |first=Perry |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303496589 |title=The Philippine Archipelago |publisher=Asia Publishing Co. Ltd. |year=1998 |location=Makati city, Philippines |pages=227–255 |chapter=The Philippine Menagerie}}</ref>

== Japan ==
Some species of the stegodontid ''[[Stegolophodon]]'' from the Middle [[Miocene]] of Japan around 16 million years ago have been suggested to exhibit insular dwarfism, appearing to exhibit size reduction over time, which would make them the oldest known proboscideans to do so.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Saegusa |first=Haruo |date=May 2008 |title=Dwarf Stegolophodon from the Miocene of Japan: Passengers on sinking boats |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1040618207002273 |journal=Quaternary International |language=en |volume=182 |issue=1 |pages=49–62 |doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2007.08.001|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hunt |first1=David A. G. A. |last2=DiBattista |first2=Joseph D. |last3=Hendry |first3=Andrew P. |date=May 2022 |title=Effects of insularity on genetic diversity within and among natural populations |journal=Ecology and Evolution |language=en |volume=12 |issue=5 |pages=e8887 |doi=10.1002/ece3.8887 |pmid=35571757 |pmc=9077629 |issn=2045-7758|hdl=10072/425158 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

During Pliocene-Early Pleistocene (from around 4-1 million years ago), a succession of endemic dwarf species of ''Stegodon,'' probably representing a single lineage lived in the [[Japanese archipelago]], probably derived from the mainland Chinese ''S. zydanskyi.'' In chronological succession these species are ''Stegodon miensis'' (4-3 million years ago) ''Stegodon protoaurorae'' (3-2 million years ago) and ''[[Stegodon aurorae]],'' (2-1 million years ago) which show a progressive size reduction through time, possibly as a result of reducing land area of the Japanese archipelago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Aiba |first1=Hiroaki |last2=Baba |first2=Katsuyoshi |last3=Matsukawa |first3=Masaki |date=2010-03-10 |title=A new species of Stegodon (Mammalia, Proboscidea) from the Kazusa Group (lower Pleistocene), Hachioji City, Tokyo, Japan and its evolutionary morphodynamics: STEGODON PROTOAURORAE SP. NOV. AND MORPHODYNAMICS |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-4983.2010.00953.x |journal=Palaeontology |language=en |volume=53 |issue=3 |pages=471–490 |doi=10.1111/j.1475-4983.2010.00953.x|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The latest and smallest species ''S. aurorae'' is estimated to be 25% the size of its mainland ancestor with a body mass of around {{Convert|2122|kg|lb}}.<ref name="Geer-2016" />

During the late Middle Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene around 330,000-24,000 years ago, the Japanese archipelago was inhabited by the elephant species ''[[Palaeoloxodon naumanni]].<ref name=":05">{{Cite journal |last=Takahashi |first=Keiichi |date=2022-10-29 |title=An Overview of Palaeloxodon naumanni, the Palaeoloxodon (Elephantidae) of the Far East: Distribution, Morphology and Habitat |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2022.2132857 |journal=Historical Biology |language=en |volume=35 |issue=11 |pages=2076–2093 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2022.2132857 |issn=0891-2963|url-access=subscription }}</ref>'' This species was only modestly dwarfed compared to its large continental ancestor,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=van der Geer |first1=Alexandra |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781444323986 |title=Evolution of Island Mammals: Adaptation and Extinction of Placental Mammals on Islands |last2=Lyras |first2=George |last3=de Vos |first3=John |last4=Dermitzakis |first4=Michael |date=2010-08-13 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-4051-9009-1 |edition=1 |pages=241 |language=en |chapter=Japan |doi=10.1002/9781444323986.ch16}}</ref> having a reconstructed shoulder height of {{Convert|2.4-2.8|m|ft}}, for males and around {{Convert|2|m|ft}} for females.<ref name=":05" />

==Wrangel Island==
During the [[Holocene]], [[woolly mammoth]]s (''Mammuthus primigenius'') lived on [[Wrangel Island]] in the [[Arctic Ocean]], surviving thousands of years after the extinction of mainland woolly mammoths until around 2000 BCE, the most recent survival of any known mammoth population. Wrangel Island is thought to have become separated from the mainland by 12000 BCE. It was assumed that Wrangel Island mammoths ranged from {{convert|180|–|230|cm|abbr=on}} in shoulder height and were for a time considered "dwarf mammoths".<ref name="Nature">{{cite journal |author1=Vartanyan, S.L. |author2=Garutt, V.E. |author3=Sher, A.V. |year=1993 |title=Holocene dwarf mammoths from Wrangel Island in the Siberian Arctic |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=362 |issue=6418 |pages=337–340 |doi=10.1038/362337a0 |pmid=29633990 |s2cid=4249191}}</ref> However this classification has been re-evaluated and since the Second International Mammoth Conference in 1999, these mammoths are no longer considered to be true "dwarf mammoths", as their size falls within the range of that of mainland Siberian woolly mammoths.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Tikhonov |first=Alexei |author2=Larry Agenbroad |author3=Sergey Vartanyan |year=2003 |title=Comparative analysis of the mammoth populations on Wrangel Island and the Channel Islands |url=http://www.nmr.nl/nmr/pages/showPage.do?itemid=1896&instanceid=16 |url-status=dead |journal=Deinsea |volume=9 |pages=415–420 |issn=0923-9308 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120611113051/http://www.nmr.nl/nmr/pages/showPage.do?itemid=1896&instanceid=16 |archive-date=2012-06-11}}</ref>

== Factors influencing dwarfism ==
The factors influencing dwarfism of proboscideans have been considered complex and particular to each island, though resource limitation has been considered to be a likely major driver on all islands.<ref name=":12" /> Length of isolation has been considered an important factor, with dwarf proboscideans isolated for longer generally being smaller than those isolated for a more brief period of time.<ref name=":12" /> Distance from the mainland beyond the minimum distance of around {{Convert|10|km}} required for speciation is suggested to not be an important factor, at least directly.<ref name=":0" /> Island area is only weakly correlated with body size.<ref name="Geer-2016" /> Competition with other herbivores is suggested to be important factor, resulting in a reduced level of dwarfism where they are present.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Geer-2016" /> The effect of the presence of large carnivores is unclear, but is suggested to depend on the diversity of the carnivore guild.<ref name="Geer-2016" />

==See also==
{{portal|Paleontology}}
* [[Borneo elephant]]

==References==<!-- Taxonomy is inconsistent on entire group of Elephant, Elephas, Palaeoloxodon... pages. See also Biol. Lett.2:451 doi:10.1098/rsbl.2006.0467 but see also BiolLett3:55,57,60. First and last papers have digital appendices. -->
{{Reflist}}
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* Theodorou, G.E., Symeonidis N., Stathopoulou E., 2007, Elephas tiliensis n.sp. from Tilos island (Dodekanese, Greece) Hellenic Journal of Geosciences -Annalles Geologiques des Pays Helleniques - Vol. 42, pp.19-32, Athens
* Tikhonov, A., Agenbroad, L. & Vartanyan, S., 2003 - Comparative analysis of the mammoth populations on Wrangel Island and the Channel Islands - in: Reumer, J.W.F., De Vos, J. & Mol, D. (eds.) - Advances in Mammoth Research (Proceedings of the Second International Mammoth Conference, Rotterdam, May 16-20 1999) - DEINSEA 9: 415-420 [ISSN 0923-9308] Published 24 May 2003
* Van den Bergh, G.D., De Vos, J., Aziz, F., Morwood, M.J. 2001. Elephantoidea in the Indonesian region: new Stegodon findings from Flores. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress (October 16-20 2001, Rome): 623-627. [http://www.cq.rm.cnr.it/elephants2001/pdf/623_627.pdf PDF fulltext]
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{{Elephants}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dwarf Elephant}}
[[Category:Prehistoric elephants]]
[[Category:Holocene extinctions]]
[[Category:History of Sardinia]]
[[Category:History of Sicily]]
[[Category:Maltese prehistory]]
[[Category:Prehistoric Crete]]
[[Category:Prehistoric Cyprus]]
[[Category:Cyclades]]
[[Category:Dodecanese]]

[[pt:Elefante-pigmeu]]