Studying Proboscideans: knowledge, problems, and perspectives

摘要

In the course of their long history, covering approximately 55 million years, Proboscideans exhibited complex and in some ways not yet clarified evolutionary patterns. It is enough to say that in the noticeable and ponderous opera by Osborn (1933-1942), the classification system was based on the concept of adaptive radiation and more than 350 species have been recognised. The more our knowledge increases, the more windows are opened on the past and the present Proboscideans and elephant life, the more sophisticated methods of analysis we employ, more discoveries arise and more zones still remain in shadow.