Review of the Pliocene and Pleistocene Proboscidea (Mammalia) from Greece

Fossil Proboscidea are common in the Pliocene and Pleistocene sediments of Greece. They have been studied either as parts of a whole fauna, or, as is usually the case, as isolated finds of one or two molars or bones. The only representative of Elephantidae of the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene in Europe in general and in Greece in particular is Mammuthus meridionalis. In some Late Pliocene localities, this elephant is found together with the gomphothere Anancus arvernensis. Some sporadic more advanced forms of the genus Mammuthus are identified as M. trogontherii (= M. armeniacus) and M. primigenius. Most of the Late Pleistocene findings belong to Elephas antiquus, a species known from numerous continental localities. The same species is also known from insular sites, where it is the main ancestor of the island endemic forms.