#deinotherium

Chapter heading - "La période pliocène" [The Pliocene Period] from Camille Flammarion's Le monde avant la création de l'homme (1886)

Les volcans français pendant la periode miocene' [French volcanoes during the Miocene period] from Camille Flammarion's Le monde avant la création de l'homme (1886)

Deinotherium by Édouard Riou from Chatterbox Magazine, 1880, pg. 332

"Tropical Europe of long ago: Animals which lived in Europe during the warm periods before the Glacial Cold. On the right, Deinotherium, Mastodon; in background, Helladotherium, ancient giraffes; on the left, Hippopotamus, Tapir, Rhinoceros, Hyena; in the tree, Pithecus pentelicus. All these animals, except the giraffe, were living in England in the late Tertiary Period."

From Winners in life's race, or, The great backboned family by Arabella B. Buckley, 1882

'Im Hintergrunde Mastodonten , ein Riesenfaulthier , einen Baum niederreißend ; im Vordergrunde das Megatherium und das mit Stoßzähnen schwerbewaffnete Dinotherium ; Anoplotherien und Paläotherien' [In the background, mastodons, a giant sloth, tearing down a tree; in the foreground, the Megatherium and the heavily tusked Dinotherium; Anoplotheria and Paleotheria].

From Das Buch der Geologie. Naturgeschichte der Erde in allgemein verständlicher Darstellung für alle Freunde dieser Wissenschaft [The Book of Geology: The Natural History of the Earth in a Generally Understandable Presentation for All Friends of the Science] by Rudolph Ludwig (1861, Otto Spamer Publishing House, Leipzig), volume II. Modified from illustration in magazine Die Gartenlaube (1854)

Today's animal of the day is Deinotherium giganteum!

Image credit: Harrison Keller Pyle

This species of elephant-like proboscidean lived in Europe from the Middle Miocene to the Early Pleistocene epoch. Deinotherium giganteum is currently considered the largest of the three confirmed species of Deinotherium, with adult males being around 11.9-13.1 ft tall and weighing between 9 to 13 tons! However, in 2006, a slightly larger species of Deinotherium (D. thraceiensis) was described, but paleontologists aren't sure whether or not these fossils actually represents a new species or if they are belong to a larger than expected D. giganteum specimen or one of the several other potentially valid/invalid species of European Deinotheriums. Either way, D. giganteum was bigger than D. bozasi in Africa and D. indicum in Asia, which are the other two species of Deinotherium that are formally recognized by paleontologists.

Image credit: cisiopurple on DeviantArt

The genus Deinotherium has an interesting paleontological history. When its remains were first discovered in southeastern France in the year 1613, a French surgeon named Mazurier claimed them to be the bones of "Theutobochus Rex" and put them on display. Theutobochus (real name Teutobod) was the ancient king of the Teuton tribe of northeastern Europe. He led the Teutons, along with the neighboring Cimbri tribe, in the Battle of Arausio where he successfully raided Rome in 105 BC. Several years later, during the Battle of Aquae Sextiae, he was captured and executed by Roman forces led by Gauis Marius. The reason these bones were thought to belong to Teutobod was that centuries after his death, legends surrounding him claimed that he was a giant. A tombstone with "Theutobochus's" name written in Latin, as well as Roman coins, were also allegedly found nearby.

Image credit: Heinrich Harder

So, the public ran with the idea and it wasn't until 21 years later that the hoax was finally revealed, since the coins on display weren't actually Roman coins and it would make no sense for a Germanic leader to have his tombstone be engraved with a language that he didn't speak. The bones were thought to have belonged to either an elephant, tapir, or dugong. It wasn't until centuries later, when similar fossils were found in a turqouise mine, that the alleged bones of "Theutobochus Rex" were identified as Deinotherium.

Image credit: Mark Witton

Deinotherium's most recognizable features are its tusks. Unlike the tusks of modern elephants and many other species of extinct proboscideans, the tusks of Deinotherium grew downward and curved back towards the animal's body instead of away from it. This would have made Deinotherium's tusks useless for digging or competing with each other for resources and mating rights. So, the main theory as to their purpose is that they helped Deinotherium push tree branches out of its way while it was feeding. This is supported by wear and tear found on fossilized Deinotherium tusks. While the tusks moved large branches out of the way, Deinotherium's relatively short trunk would have been used to pull leaves and smaller branches into its mouth.

Image credit: Gabriel N. U.