What is Deinotherium?
Q: What is Deinotherium?
A: Deinotherium was a large proboscidean related to modern elephants, with downward curving tusks.
Q: What is notable about Deinotherium's tusks?
A: Deinotherium's tusks are curved downwards.
Q: Where and when was Deinotherium known to have lived?
A: Deinotherium was known to have lived from the middle Miocene to the early Pleistocene in parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Q: How does Deinotherium compare in size to modern-day elephants?
A: Deinotherium was larger than today's elephants.
Q: What are some debated uses of Deinotherium's tusks?
A: It is debated that Deinotherium might have used its tusks to root in soil for underground plant parts like roots and tubers, pulled down branches to snap them and reach leaves, or stripped soft bark from tree trunks.
Q: What was the environmental context in which Deinotherium lived?
A: Deinotherium lived in muddy tropical rivers and forests, not the dry savannahs of today.
Q: Where have Deinotherium fossils been found in relation to the remains of prehistoric hominid relatives of modern humans?
A: Deinotherium fossils have been uncovered at several of the African sites where remains of prehistoric hominid relatives of modern humans have also been found.
