Scientists Finally Discovered How Elephants Got Their Trunks 0 36

It is noted that elephant trunks are a marvel of evolutionary biology – they can reach up to two meters in length, have about 40,000 individual muscles and nerve fibers, and can lift objects weighing up to 270 kilograms, while also being able to gently pick up a nut. For a long time, the natural and biological factors that aided the evolution of trunks puzzled the scientific community, but now the veil of mystery has been lifted.

In their research, scientists compared three main families of elephant-like mammals, namely Amebelodontidae, Choerolophodontidae, and Gomphotheriidae, which inhabited the northern part of China from 11 to 20 million years ago and are ancestors of modern elephants. The researchers analyzed the tooth enamel of these animals to gain insights into where they lived and what they ate.

Thus, Choerolophodontidae lived in closed forests, Amebelodontidae preferred open spaces such as meadows, while Gomphotheriidae resided in mixed zones, which reflected how their jaws moved depending on the food consumed. The scientists pointed out that the nasal region of the skulls of the last two families resembled that of modern elephants, suggesting that they could grasp and bring food to their mouths.

At that time, according to the scientists, the climate became colder and drier, and the spaces became more open, resulting in early elephants using their trunks to gather grasses, which ultimately triggered evolutionary changes.