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 31 gomphotheres DHJanzen100693.jpg high resolution
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| Looking for all the world like medium-sized elephant, gomphotheres roamed Central America only 11,500 years ago. Just as do modern elephants, they would have been major dispersers of seeds of all sizes (elephants let seeds as large as tennis balls get past the molar mill) as well as major creators of disturbance in the forest, disturbance that would have in turn influenced seedling survival and generally increased forest diversity. But look again at this forest elephant. It has TWO sets of tusks. One above, more or less as you expect with an elephant, and an almost spade like lower set - presumably for digging out roots and tubers, and uprooting trees. | ||
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