Four
fossilized tusk fragments believed to be the remains of stegodon, or a saber-toothed
elephant, have been found in Pingle County near the scenic city of Guilin in southwest
China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Experts with the Beijing Vertebrate
Paleontology and Palaeoanthropology Institute believe the fossils date back at least some
15,000 years judging by pictures sent by the fossil collector Yan Shijie, a local retired
teacher. The shape of the fossilized tusks is clear and intact.
Fossils of the ancient species, a large elephant that lived between 10 million and some
15,000 years ago, have been found in Africa and Asia, and the most complete fossil remains
of the elephant was discovered in Heshui, Gansu Province in northwest China in 1973, a
specimen 8 meters long and 4 meters high, with a 3.03 meters long tusk.
