Two Late Pleistocene specimens of Asian Elephant, and other fossil Proboscidea found in Borneo

Lim Tze Tshen

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-1-2022

Abstract

A newly recognised Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) specimen re-discovered amongst the animal remains excavated by the Harrissons at West Mouth (Niah Cave) in 1958 re-opens the debate about the origin of the species in Borneo. This represents the only specimen of the species with clear stratigraphic information recovered from any controlled excavation sites in the whole island. The current study presents the first zooarchaeological evidence from Niah Cave that unequivocally confirms that Asian elephant was part of the large mammal community on Borneo during late Pleistocene times. This important find is put in a broader context of other prehistoric proboscidean remains recorded from the island, including one previously unreported post-cranial specimen from the fossil collection of Sarawak Museum. Key issues discussed in the present paper include: the geological age of the Niah specimen, geographic origins and the current distribution pattern, the validity of the available subspecific names, and the doubtful presence of the Straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon) in Borneo. © 2022 Malaysian Nature Society. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Borneo elephant, Fossil, Niah cave, Prehistory, Sundaland megafauna, Zooarchaeology

Divisions

GEOLOGY

Funders

Sarawak Museum Department,State Planning Unit at the Chief Minister’s Department of Sarawak [Grant No: JKM/SPU/608-8/2/2],Tazudin Mohtar,Yasmin Khalid Nicholls

Publication Title

Malayan Nature Journal

Volume

74

Issue

2

Publisher

Malaysian Nature Society

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS