Dwarf elephant

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/dwarf-elephant

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the ancestral lineage?Primarily descended from large mainland proboscideans like Palaeoloxodon antiquus and Columbian mammoths
2. What were dwarf elephants and how big were they?Dwarf elephants were tiny versions of the big elephants we know. They were about the size of a pony, standing only 1 to 2.3 meters tall at the shoulder.
3. Why did dwarf elephants become smaller on islands?On islands there was less food and fewer big predators. Being smaller helped them survive and have babies with the limited resources.

Allopatric speciation: The evolution of new species from populations that are geographically isolated from one another.
Insular dwarfism: A biological phenomenon where large terrestrial vertebrates colonizing islands evolve significantly smaller body sizes.
Paleontological: Relating to the study of fossils, which are the preserved remains of ancient life.