Who are proboscis mammals? Representatives of these animals appeared millions of years ago. Find out how many species exist now, what distinguishing features they have.
Proboscis mammals
When the word "proboscis" usually arises only a few associations - elephants and mammoths. And rightly so, because the proboscis squad includes only the elephant family. Proboscis mammals appeared in equatorial Africa approximately 45 million years ago. Then their range expanded to Africa, Eurasia, North and South America. Mastodons and mammoths are considered their distant ancestors.
Currently, elephants are common in Southeast Asia and Africa. They live in savannahs and tropical forests. They are social animals and real centenarians. Elephants die at the age of 60-80 years. They live in groups consisting of several females and cubs. Males only occasionally join them to find a mating partner.
For the sake of food, they are able to walk hundreds of kilometers. Elephants eat up to 500 kilograms of plant food per day, drink up to 300 liters of water. Whereinanimals digest no more than 40% of food. The basis of the diet is leaves, grass, fruits and tree bark.
Building features
Their size is impressive. Elephants are huge herbivores with an average height of 2.5 to 4 meters and a length of up to 4.5 meters. Proboscis mammals have a gigantic body compared to humans, a large head and large ears. The gray skin is covered with sparse vegetation and fine wrinkles.
Huge ears help to cope with the heat by regulating the receipt and release of heat in the body. Additional cooling occurs when the ears are flapping. Thanks to these powerful radars, elephants are excellent at distinguishing sounds at a frequency of 1 kHz.
Their incisor teeth are greatly enlarged and are called tusks. For humans, they are a valuable material, so animals are often killed for the sake of ivory. Despite their impressive size, elephants walk quietly and softly due to the fat pad on their feet, which increases the area of the foot.
Why does an elephant need a trunk?
The trunk is an important and irreplaceable organ of elephants. It was formed by the union of the upper lip and nose. Equipped with muscles and tendons that allow the animal to use it instead of hands. With this powerful and flexible tool, proboscis mammals can drag branches, logs, and pick fruits from trees.
The trunk also works as a sense organ. The nostrils located at its end help to smell odors. Thanks to the sensitivity of the trunk, elephants feel objects in order to recognize them. On thewatering holes suck up water with a trunk, then sending it to the mouth. The sounds made by this organ allow elephants to communicate.
Types of elephants
Elephants are represented by only three species - African savannah, Indian, Forest. The latter is dwarfed in comparison to its brothers, reaching only two and a half meters in height. The body of the animal is covered with thick brown hair. It has rounded ears, which is why it is called round-eared. Together with the bush elephant, the forest elephant is listed in the Red Book.
The African savannah is also listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest mammal in the world. The length of his body sometimes reaches seven meters, and the height at the shoulders - four. The average weight of males reaches 7 tons, while females have two tons less. They live mainly in reserves and national parks, some are common in the desert regions of Namibia and Mali, which is why they are called desert elephants.
Indian or Asian elephant is slightly smaller than the savanna. Its habitual habitat is bamboo thickets, tropical and deciduous forests. He is the only representative of the genus of Indian elephants and is considered an endangered species. There are several subspecies of it that live in Sri Lanka, Sumatra, India, China, Cambodia, and the island of Borneo.
