By Derek Gatopoulos
Iraklio, Greece - A prehistoric ancestor of the elephant may have roamed - and perhaps swum - farther than experts once imagined.
Researchers on the southern Greek island of Crete have unearthed the fossilised tusk, teeth and bones of a fearsome Deinotherium Gigantisimum, an elephant-like creature that reached nearly 4,5m tall.
The seven-million-year-old remains suggest the mammal moved around larger areas of Europe than previously believed, possibly swimming long distances in search of food.
'Vegetarian animals could swim a lot' "It was more widespread than we thought," said Charalampos Fassoulas, a geologist who headed the excavations by the University of Crete's Natural History Museum.
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The 1,4m tusk was found in September, along with seven fossilised teeth the size of softballs and several bones on farmland cleared to plant olive trees.
"We don't have many fossils of this animal, so everything we find increases our knowledge about it and its habitat," Fassoulas said, waving his hand over a lab table holding the finds.
The species - whose tusks curved downward from its chin - is the largest member of the pre-elephant animal. Its remains have been found mainly in central Europe.
Fassoulas speculated the elephants reached Crete from nearby Asia Minor, or modern day Turkey, possibly swimming part of the way across the southern Aegean Sea archipelago during periods where sea levels were lower.
"Vegetarian animals could swim a lot," he said. "And we believe that these animals came probably from Asia Minor via (the islands of) Rhodes and Karpathos to reach Crete."
Remains of other elephant ancestors have previously been found on mainland Greece, leading some researchers to speculate that bones found by ancient Greeks may have become part of their mythology.
A large hole in the middle of the elephant's skull - the nasal cavity for its trunk - could have given rise to the tales of the cyclops, the ferocious mythological giant with one eye that appears in Homer's Odyssey and other stories.
"People who lived in the early Greek period may have seen (elephant) bones and couldn't have imagined where they could have come from," said Fassoulas.
He urged other farmers to look out for fossilized bones in eastern Crete, where the tusk and bones were unearthed.
"Unfortunately we didn't find the skull which is very important. This would gives us a lot of information," he said.
The tusk, broken in several places, will be set in plaster before being put on public display. - Sapa-AP
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