Elephant bird The bones of these domesticated fowl have been found in subfossil sites in the island (MacPhee and Marx, 1997: 188), such as Ambolisatra (Madagascar), where "Mullerornis" sp. and "Aepyornis maximus" have been reported. Also reported by these authors, ratite remains have been found in west and south west Madagascar, at Belo-sur-Mer ("A. medius", "Mullerornis rudis"), Bemafandry ("M. agilis") and Lamboharana ("Mullerornis" sp.). Recently human tool marks have been found on elephant bird bones dating to approximately 10,000 BC. This not only vastly extends the range of human existence on Madagascar's prehistoric past, but suggests a more complex relationship between these
Straight-tusked elephant they evolved into dwarfed elephants. The responsible factors for the dwarfing of island mammals are thought to be the reduction in food availability, predation and competition. Straight-tusked elephant The straight-tusked elephant ("Palaeoloxodon antiquus") is an extinct species of elephant that inhabited Europe during the Middle and Late Pleistocene (781,000–50,000 years before present). Some experts regard the larger Asian species, "Palaeoloxodon namadicus", as a variant or subspecies. It was formerly thought to be closely related to the living Asian elephant; however, in 2016, DNA sequence analysis showed that its closest extant relative is actually the African forest elephant, "Loxodonta cyclotis". It