Prehistoric elephant had in-built 'scythe'

A prehistoric type of elephant had a second pair of tusks that they used to cut tough vegetation. Platybelodon's bizarre jaw was used as an in-built 'scythe' to saw off their food.

Osborn’s reconstruction of Platybelodon from his 1936 book Proboscidea
[Credit: American Museum of Natural History, via the
Biodiversity Heritage Library]

They were originally believed to be water-living creatures that used their incisors to shovel and dig up food from swamps.  But further investigations into the fossilised tusks have changed the minds of scientists.

Vertebrate palaeontologist William Sanders, from the University of Michigan, told Wired: 'Recent analysis of tusk wear surfaces show that they were used more as scythes to cut tough vegetation.'

Platybelodon grangeri from the Linxia Basin of China. A, male cranium; B, female cranium
C, male mandible; D, female mandible [Credit: Wang Shiqi]

Platybelodon were slightly smaller than an African elephant and like their descendants had few predators because of their size.

Mr Sanders told the website: 'The trunk is a very separate entity from the mouth. You have to be able to get food into your mouth, and if your front limbs are occupied in posture, and you have upper and lower tusks that would make it difficult to have a long projecting tongue or mobile lips, then you need a proboscis.'

Because they spent much of their time around water there are examples of platybelodon fossils.

Author: Becky Evans | Source: Daily Mail [Octoner 06, 2013]