† Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus Khalaf, 2010 : A New Fossil Four-Tusked Elephant Subspecies

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ISSN 0178-6288 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Norman_KhalafPrinz_Sakerfalke_Von_Jaffa/publications https://palestine.academia.edu/NormanKhalaf https://issuu.com/dr-norman-ali-khalaf/docs

================================ ‫ اﻟﻧﺷرة اﻟﻔﻠﺳطﯾﻧﯾﺔ ﻟﻌﻠم اﻷﺣﯾﺎء‬: ‫اﻟﻐزال‬ Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin Gazelle : Das Palästinensische Biologische Bulletin

================================ Monthly Bulletin – Volume 28 – Number 98 – February 2010 Published by Prof. Dr. Norman Ali Khalaf Department for Environmental Research and Media, National Research Center, University of Palestine, Gaza, State of Palestine

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† Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus Khalaf, 2010 : A New Fossil Four-Tusked Elephant Subspecies from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates ‫ أﺣﺎﻓﯾر ﻟﻧُوﯾﻊ‬: 2010 ، ‫† ﺳﺗ ّﺟوﺗ ّﺗراﺑّﻠودون ﺳﯾرﺗﯾﻛوس إﻣﯾراﺗوس ﺧﻠف‬ ‫ دوﻟﺔ اﻹﻣﺎرات‬، ‫ﺟدﯾد ﻣن اﻟﻔﯾﻠﺔ ذات اﻷرﺑﻌﺔ أﻧﯾﺎب ﻣن إﻣﺎرة أﺑو ظﺑﻲ‬ ‫اﻟﻌرﺑﯾﺔ اﻟﻣُﺗﺣدة‬ By: Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa Abstract A new Miocene fossil subspecies of four-tusked elephant of the genus Stegotetrabelodon (Order Proboscidea, Family Elephantoidea, Subfamily Gomphotheriidae) from the Western Region, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates is described. The remains of the new fossil subspecies are distinguished from the remains of Stegotetrabelodon syrticus from Libya and Southern Italy, by its slightly different skeletal, skull and tusk features. It is morphologically and geographically distinct from the species Stegotetrabelodon syrticus. The new Emirati fossil subspecies was named † Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus Khalaf, 2010.

Keywords Four-Tusked Elephant, Arabian Four-Tusked Elephant, Emirati Four-Tusked Elephant, Fossil, Miocene, Primitive Elephant, † Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus, Proboscidea, Elephantoidea, Gomphotheriidae, New Fossil Subspecies, Al Gharbia (Western Region), Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Arabia, Arabian Peninsula, Middle East, Dr. Norman Ali Bassam Khalaf, 2010.

The Miocene in Arabia The Miocene Epoch lasted for nearly 20 million years, between 23.8 and 5.3 million years ago. This span of time was one when global temperatures were warmer than in the preceding epoch (the Oligocene) or the one which followed (the Pliocene). The Miocene was arguably the beginnings of our modern era, since many aspects of the global environment and its biota first appeared at this time, while the precursors of the Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – ISSN 0178-6288 – Number 98 – February 2010

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ocean currents responsible for our climate system today were established. This was largely influenced by the fact that the continents had more or less assumed their present relative positions. For example, India had moved north, colliding with the rest of the Asian continent, thus forcing up the Himalayas. The initiation of such mountain ranges may have eventually helped cause a global climate cooling, leading to the Ice Ages (Dr. John R. Stewart, 2005).

Perhaps the most important development during this period was that of a new major terrestrial ecosystem, the grassland. The first appearance of such grasslands was probably caused in part by the higher temperatures which dried the continental interiors. This new ecosystem was particularly important in moulding the faunas discovered in Abu Dhabi in recent years. In fact, it can be argued that the existence of such grasslands was a prerequisite for the eventual evolution of an upright primate such as the human species, Homo sapiens, Latin for "wise man" or "knowing man". Most of all, however, it saw the appearance of the first grass-eaters, such as horses, rhinos, camels, giraffe, cattle, deer, and antelopes, as well as a diversification of rodents and carnivores in the dog, cat, hyena and weasel families to take advantage of them.

Arabia, as part of the Eurasian continent, stood then, as now, at the crossroads of Africa and Eurasia, albeit for the first time. As a result, it was the region through which the sharing of animals between the two continents took place. At this time, even-toed hoofed mammals like pigs, deer, antelope and giraffe moved into Africa from Eurasia, while members of the elephant family and apes and old world monkeys spread in the opposite direction. By the time of the Late Miocene, the period covered by the fossils from Western Abu Dhabi, this exchange had been completed as seen by the inclusion of Stegotetrabelodon elephants and the old-world monkey that had originated in Africa (Dr. John R. Stewart, 2005).

Life in Abu Dhabi 6-8 million years ago. Reconstruction painting by Gemma Goodall (Photograph: ADIAS).

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Abu Dhabi before 8 Million years ago. English Leaflet - Front. http://www.adiasuae.com/images/fossil-leaflet-english-front.jpg

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Abu Dhabi before 8 Million years ago. Arabic Leaflet - Front. http://www.adiasuae.com/images/fossil-leaflet-arabic-front.jpg

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The Geological Setting of the Abu Dhabi Fossils The vertebrate fossils from Western Abu Dhabi all come from some fluvial sediments (sands and gravels) called the Baynunah Formation. The deposits are the youngest in a series of Miocene sediments starting with a limestone formed under marine conditions (the Dam Formation) followed by a series of wind-blown sands and evaporitic sediments characteristic of a desert much like Abu Dhabi today (the Shuwaihat formation). Evaporitic sediments are ones partially produced by the evaporation of water leaving behind dissolved calcium carbonate and gypsum. Next, there was a much wetter phase with greater evidence for plants in the form of root casts and structures indicative of river deposition (the Baynunah Formation). These deposits contain the various animal fossil bones discovered by the Whybrow and Hill team in the 1980s and early 1990s, as well as those found during later fieldwork conducted by the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey, ADIAS. Sites with Miocene fossil faunas are distributed in Abu Dhabi emirate from Jebel Barakah in the far west of Abu Dhabi to Rumaitha in the east (Dr. John R. Stewart, 2005).

Many of the animals confirm a riverine origin such as the freshwater mussels, crocodiles, turtles, fish and hippopotami. The lusher environment supporting the other large herbivores is also indicated by soil formation seen in various sediment profiles.

The rivers depositing the sands and gravels were evidently quite large with multiple channels covering a wide area, no doubt with vegetated sections between channels. One such fossil river bed near Mirfa has been estimated to have been over 100 meters wide.

The age of the Baynunah Formation has been estimated as 6 – 8 million years old, based in part on a technique called palaeomagnetic dating. This uses the evidence in the rocks for the former magnetic field of the earth which has changed relative orientation through time due to factors including the movement of the continental landmasses by continental drift (Dr. John R. Stewart, 2005).

The Abu Dhabi fossils date back to the geological period known as the Late Miocene, when the climate of the Arabian Peninsula was very different to that of today. At that time, scientists have discovered, the coastal areas of the Western Region of Abu Dhabi, stretching from Rumaitha, in the east, to just beyond Jebel Dhanna, in the west, a distance of more than 150 kilometers, were much more fertile, with wide, slow-moving rivers and vegetation cover, rather like the Savanahs of today's East Africa.

In all, over 8,000 fossils have been found, which together make up one of the most important collections in the world of fossils from this period.

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The Hippopotamus was living in the Miocene in the Emirates. Sharjah Natural History Museum, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Foto: Dr. Norman Ali Bassam Khalaf. 01. July 2010. http://arabian-four-tusked-elephant.webs.com/arabianelephant.htm

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The Abu Dhabi Elephant Fossils Mammals are the best represented group of vertebrates in the Baynunah Formation. A very obvious feature of this mammalian fauna is that it is disproportionately made up of large megafaunal elements. Mammals with a body mass lower than 40 Kilograms are almost absent. This is undoubtedly due in part to the methods used by both the Whybrow/Hill team and by ADIAS to recover the fauna, which was mostly surface collecting. The greater mechanical strength of the bones of larger mammals also probably played a role. The elephant family was mostly represented by Stegotetrabelodon syrticus Petrocchi, 1941, known predominantly from Northern Africa and Southern Europe. They had tusks in both upper and lower jaws. Those of the upper jaws were larger and measured up to 2.5 meters in length while those in the lower jaws were less than two thirds of that length.

The 6-8 million year old elephant tusk discovered at Ruwais. The tusk is an upper tusk from Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus (Photograph: ADIAS).

Stegotetrabelodon is the best known elephant from Abu Dhabi with finds of an incomplete skeleton found at Shuwaihat. This skeleton is made up of a skull, lower jaw, many parts of the vertebral column, ribs and elements of both the forelimbs and hindlimbs. The smallest bones, such as those of the feet, were missing. Other finds include a lower jaw without teeth and various isolated teeth. The ADIAS excavations at Ruwais have yielded further remains of this elephant including two tusks 2.54 and 1.94 metres in length respectively, an almost complete pair of mandibles, a fragmentary Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – ISSN 0178-6288 – Number 98 – February 2010

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mandible with an unerupted tooth seen in the jaw and some ribs. These finds are described in more detail below (Dr. John R. Stewart, 2005).

The other elephants found, albeit in smaller numbers, were a type of Mastodon and a Deinothere. The Mastodon was a primitive group of elephants with lower crowned teeth adapted to browsing. The Deinothere on the other hand were a group of elephants that lacked upper tusks although possessed lower ones and instead of having a trunk like a modern elephant they had a large overhanging muscular structure similar to tapirs (Dr. John R. Stewart, 2005).

Measuring the Ruwais tusk. It is an upper tusk from Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus and measures 2.54 metres in length (Photograph: Dr. Mark Beech).

Fossils collected at Ruwais included the remains of fossil wood (acacia), freshwater clams, catfish, turtle, crocodile, ostrich, hyena, elephant, horse, hippopotamus, pig and antelope. This is a very similar range of material to the earlier fossils discovered by the Natural History Museum and Yale University teams at other sites in the western region of Abu Dhabi.

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The most spectacular fossils from the Ruwais site were several large bones from primitive elephants. These are described in more detail as follows:

The Big Elephantid Tusk from Ruwais – Site RUW0044 This was discovered during the November 2002 visit to the Ruwais fossil site. It was an almost complete upper tusk from a primitive elephant species called Stegotetrabelodon syrticus. This is a type of primitive elephant which had four tusks, two longer upper quite straight tusks and two shorter lower parallel tusks. The Ruwais tusk measured 2.54 metres in length from its base to its tip. Stegotetrabelodon lived in Abu Dhabi around 6 to 8 million years ago. Other fossils from this species have been discovered at a number of sites in the western region of Abu Dhabi such as Shuwaihat and Jebel Barakah (Dr. Mark Beech, 2005).

The Ruwais tusk was, in fact, not one complete tusk but thousands of fragile fragments, bound together by its surrounding sediment. It was necessary, therefore, to undertake some conservation treatment on the tusk before it could be fully excavated and removed from the site.

The tusk was first consolidated in the field with Paraloid B72 in acetone. Paraloid B72 is a very stable methacrylate co-polymer which is used by museum conservators all around the world due to its stability and because it is easily reversed by applying acetone. It can be used with acetone as a consolidant, a sort of thin glue which can penetrate into permeable fossils and is therefore useful for fieldwork. It is generally used as a consolidant between 5 to 20% in acetone, weight to volume.

The specimen was covered in tissue paper and foil and then plaster of Paris was used to make a rigid covering and support for the tusk as it was excavated. However, the plaster hardened too rapidly in the desert conditions, and there were worries about the specimen ultimately being too heavy to move. Therefore, expanding polyeurathane foam was used to make a lighter, but nevertheless rigid, jacket around the remaining areas of the specimen and the hardened sand matrix surrounding it. Some of the tusk (roughly the second quarter from the proximal end) unavoidably suffered collapse during this tricky stage of excavation, as the interior of the tusk was a sandy material which the consolidant had not reached.

The specimen and its encasing rigid jacket were underpinned by a specially-made and ingenious wooden and steel framework, to which the rigid field jacket was securely attached. The tusk, in its protective jacket, was removed from the desert on the wooden framework to the ADIAS laboratory and storage facility at Maqta, Abu Dhabi.

Despite the size and fragility of the specimen and the weakness of the surrounding sediment the excavation was a great success.

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Elephant Upper Tusk and Tooth from Ruwais. Abu Dhabi before 8 Million years ago. Arabic Leaflet – Inside. http://www.adias-uae.com/images/fossil-leaflet-arabic-inside.jpg

Nigel Larkin, a UK-based conservator, subsequently made two visits to the UAE in February and October 2003 to work on the conservation and preparation for display of the Ruwais fossils (Dr. Mark Beech, 2005).

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Elephant Upper Tusk and Tooth from Ruwais. Abu Dhabi before 8 Million years ago. English Leaflet – Inside. http://www.adias-uae.com/images/fossil-leaflet-english-inside.jpg

Elephantid Jaws from Ruwais – Site RUW0013 Another important discovery at the Ruwais site was a pair of jaws from another elephantid. These were found at site RUW0013, located to the south of the area being developed for the Waste Disposal Plant. The fossil specimens here were found just Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – ISSN 0178-6288 – Number 98 – February 2010

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below the present-day ground surface, buried in a loose sandy matrix. They were heavily encrusted with gypsum so it was difficult to see the surface details on the jaws.

An important feature which was visible, however, was traces of the lower tusks in situ.

The poor preservation conditions had unfortunately led to the destruction of the teeth, only small splinters and fragments being recovered from the surface layers around the specimen. Preliminary examination suggests that they belong to Stegotetrabelodon syrticus. They are very similar in appearance to the earlier specimens collected by Peter Whybrow’s team from Shuwaihat site S6 (Tassy 1999; Whybrow and Hill 1999; Dr. Mark Beech 2005).

The Arabian Four-Tusked Elephant which lived in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Painting at the Sharjah Natural History Museum. Foto: Dr. Norman Ali Khalafvon Jaffa. 01 July 2010. http://arabian-four-tusked-elephant.webs.com/arabianelephant.htm

Elephant Hill at Ruwais – Excavations at Site RUW0048 Site RUW0048 was discovered by ADIAS during the survey carried out in late November 2002. An old abandoned rusty bicycle lay on the surface of a mound adjacent to what appeared to be a large scatter of elephant bones. Large fossil fragments were eroding out of the surface and sides of the mound. The site was originally given the Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – ISSN 0178-6288 – Number 98 – February 2010

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nickname “Bicycle Hill”, although it was later to be renamed “Elephant Hill” after excavations were initiated and the first discoveries were made.

A trench 9 x 7 metres was excavated at RUW0048. All fossils were excavated stratigraphically.

Notes, photographs and, where necessary, samples, were taken during the excavation to ensure maximum retention of data about the position and sedimentary environment of each specimen.

Reconstruction of Stegotetrabelodon - Picture by Mauricio Anton, in John Harris & Meave Leakey (eds.), Logatham - The Dawn of Humanity in Eastern Africa (2002). http://www.adiasuae.com/stegotetrabelodon.html#stegotetrabelodon & http://www.adiasuae.com/images/stegotetrabelodon.jpg

A series of unique specimen numbers were allocated to each major fossil, each large piece within the surface scatter, and to each group of small fragments closely associated with a fossil (Dr. Mark Beech, 2005).

Site RUW0048 proved to be extremely interesting. A series of large fossil specimens were excavated from the site, the majority of which appeared to be from elephantids. A tusk which measured 1.94 metres from its base to tip was the most spectacular find. The tip of this was extremely well preserved. Other parts of elephants uncovered included an incomplete cranium, a fragment of mandible with associated tusk cast fragments including a cross-section, the very fragmentary remains of two other tusks, one large complete rib and four large rib fragments. Of particular note was the stone cast of a freshwater bivalve. This was located resting up against the NE end of an elephant rib Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – ISSN 0178-6288 – Number 98 – February 2010

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fragment. This cast appears to belong to a swan mussel (Unionidae) which can only live in running freshwater, providing evidence that the deposits here were laid down by river currents.

Site RUW0048 bears a striking resemblance to the situation revealed by the earlier excavations carried out by the British Natural History Museum team at Site S6 at Shuwaihat. The bones here too lay on a pea-gravel type surface and appeared to have been water-deposited. An elephant must have died nearby and then its skeleton became disarticulated and distributed down the river channel until it settled on a gravelly bank.

Even the orientation of some of the fossils and composition of bones remaining from the elephant skeleton was similar (Dr. Mark Beech, 2005).

Displaying the Al Ruwais Elephant Teeth. http://www.adias-uae.com/press/al-bayan-27-nov05-p1.jpg

Excavation Stages Excavation normally proceeded in the following stages: 1. Location of a probable large fossil near the surface from the scatter of white fragments eroding on the surface.

2. Exposure of a small portion of the upper surface of the fossil by gentle brushing, followed by immediate consolidation of the exposed area. This normally allows tentative identification of the fossil and assessment of its quality and importance.

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stratigraphic order. Often it is necessary to clean an area around each fossil specimen to allow the excavator more room for working.

4. This operation leads to the fossil being exposed so that it eventually stands on a pedestal of sediment. The excavator then carefully exposes one side of the fossil, constantly consolidating exposed parts and supporting sediment until it is clear that the full depth of the bone has been exposed and partially undermined.

5. The fossil is then wrapped in conservation grade acid-free tissue paper, followed by aluminium foil, before a coating of gypsum plaster or expanding foam is applied to provide rigidity and protection. The same process is carried out along the other side to complete the protective coat before removal (Dr. Mark Beech, 2005).

Postage stamps issued in Libya in 1995 depicting Stegotetrabelodon syrticus from the Pliocene. http://www.adias-uae.com/stegotetrabelodon.html#stegotetrabelodon

Miocene fossils in the Baynunah Formation of Abu Dhabi are nearly always extremely fragile, probably due to weathering and salt crystallization during their sojourn near the desert surface. Consequently, it is necessary to excavate them with great care, immediately consolidating any exposed pieces and also consolidating surrounding sediment attached to the fossil with acrylic resin solution (Paraloid B72) diluted in acetone. Subsequently this consolidant may be removed by reversing the process through the application of more acetone (Dr. Mark Beech, 2005).

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Ancestry & Evolution of Elephants.

Elephant Fossils from Shuwaihat Island - Site S6 The Shuwaihat site was first discovered by Andrew Hill (Yale University) and Peter Whybrow (Natural History Museum, London) in late 1990. During their survey of the area they observed fragmented bones lying on the surface which belonged to the back part of an elephant (proboscidean) mandible. In January 1992 excavation began on the jaw carried out by Gillian Cromerford (Natural History Museum) and Andrew Hill. It was during this excavation that the cranium was first discovered.

The excavators realised that there might be more of the remainder of the skeleton.

Further excavation was therefore postponed until April 1992 when a team of eight specialists from the Natural History Museum arrived to carry out further work. They excavated the proboscidean cranium, and attempted to recover more of the skeleton. A second season of excavations took place in April 1994. A total area of 153 square metres was excavated in total. Bones which were retrieved from the proboscidean skeleton included a cranium, mandible, atlas, 7 thoracic vertebrae, 1 lumbar vertebra, 11 nearly entirely preserved ribs, right scapula, partial right radius, right femur, and right and left tibiae. Size and growth stage of these different elements are in agreement, so it is very likely that they belong to the same individual (a young adult, about 20 to 30 years in age, with its third molar not yet erupted and epiphyses of long bones not fused).

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The excavation of a jaw and skull of Stegotetrabelodon syrticus (Tassy, 1999) in 1992 at Shuwaihat site S6

The fossils lay on a pebbly gravel layer suggesting that the bones had accumulated in an old river channel away from the main course of the river. The elephant probably died nearby. After decomposition the skeleton was partly disarticulated, then parts of the skeleton were transported by flooding of the river channel. A larger scale flood then buried the skeleton under a thick layer of sandy silt together with additional thin layers of gravel. Besides the 35 bones recovered from the proboscidean skeleton, other fauna represented included mainly crocodile, fish, two suid specimens, a bovid horn core and a piece of ostrich egg shell (Dr. Mark Beech and Peter Hellyer, 2005).

Excavation at Shuwaihat site S6 by NHM team. Skull - right - has been partially cocooned.

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The excavation of femur at Shuwaihat site S6. http://www.adiasuae.com/fossils/SH/Sh%20site%20excavation.html

Elephant Fossils from Bida Al Mutawa An important site for fossil bones of ancient elephants has been discovered near Bida Al Mutawa, in Abu Dhabi's western region, by a team from the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey (ADIAS) in 2005. In addition, a new fossil elephant trackway site was discovered close to Bida Al Mutawa.

Their work has been supported by Takreer, the Abu Dhabi Refining Company, a part of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADNOC, Group. The bones date back to the late Miocene period, around 6 to 8 million years ago.

The fossil site was first discovered by Hamed Majid Al Mansouri and other personnel from Abu Dhabi's Animal Welfare Unit, part of the Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi, EAD, and were reported to the President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, late 2005. Following instructions from Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan; an ADIAS team visited the site and confirmed that the bones were, in fact, from fossil elephants. Other fossil bones from the same period were also identified, as well as fossil tree roots up to ten metres long.

Elephant Fossils from Umm Al Ishtan An ADIAS team carried out fieldwork in 2006 at Umm Al Ishtan in the western region of Abu Dhabi.

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Mapping and excavation of the discovered fossil site near Umm Al Ishtan, from the Late Miocene, was undertaken. A number of important fossil specimens were successfully excavated and transported back to Abu Dhabi. These include almost complete specimens of elephant radius and femur, as well as a large pelvis fragment.

The Year of the Elephant. The Birth of Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) in the year 570 C.E. http://files.fonon.net/uploads/images/fonon.net-4048a009c4.jpg

Elephant Fossils from Jaw Al Dibsa A team of archeologists led by Professor Andrew Hill and Faysal Bibi from Yale University has discovered a well preserved elephant jaw in the Western Region of the Abu Dhabi Emirate.

These sites date back to around 6-8 million years ago, a time known as the late Miocene epoch.

The team from the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University in the US arrived in Abu Dhabi in mid December 2008 to continue their collaboration with the Historic Environment Department from the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH).

The joint ADACH-Yale project concerns the investigation of the Baynunah Formation, a set of geological deposits rich in fossils which is exposed in Abu Dhabi's Western Region. The team, led by Professor Andrew Hill and Faysal Bibi from Yale University, is working in Abu Dhabi for one month surveying and mapping fossil sites dating back to 6-8 million years.

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During the late Miocene epoch Abu Dhabi was greener than today, with rivers flowing through it teeming with hippos, crocodiles, turtles and fish. Forested areas and savanna-like grasslands were occupied by animals such as elephants, rhinos, giraffes, horses, antelopes and ostriches.

The team includes members of ADACH's Historic Environment Department. Training is being provided by specialists from the Yale Peabody Museum in the conservation, preparation and study of fossil specimens.

The joint ADACH-Yale team has so far carried out surveys and excavations at Jaw Al Dibsa, Hamra and Shuwaihat. The highlights of this field season so far have been the discovery and excavation of a well preserved elephant jaw from Jaw Al Dibsa, as well as a pair of jaws from a primitive horse (known as a 'hipparion') and a crocodile skeleton from Hamra.

ADACH's Historic Environment team is currently working on an extensive project mapping the location of all the fossil sites within Abu Dhabi. Most of the fossil sites are located along the coast of the Western Region, an area under threat from rapid development.

It is important that the Abu Dhabi late Miocene deposits receive protection since these represent the most complete, best preserved examples of such deposits within the entire Arabian Peninsula.

Elephant Fossils from Jebel Barakah – Site B5 An Edentulous jaw of Stegotetrabelodon syrticus was discovered. See below.

Edentulous jaw of Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus. Jebel Barakah site B5. http://www.adiasuae.com/fossils/JB/Barakahprobfull.html

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Edentulous jaw of Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus before the missing part of the left ramus was found. Jebel Barakah site B5, Emirate of Abu Dhabi. http://www.adiasuae.com/fossils/JB/Barakahprobfull.html

Surah Al Fil, Al Qura’n Al Karim. The Elephant Chapter, The Holy Qura’n. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Y9AWrPlFnZI/SvVMSuEpKfI/AAAAAAAAAPw/815Z1oONaRw /s320/%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A9+%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%84.jpg

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Tooth (lower 3rd molar) from the Four-Tusked Elephant (Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus Khalaf, 2010) found at Site R2, Ras Dubayah, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. http://www.adias-uae.com/adiasnews05-05.html

A Model of Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus. http://www.natural-historyconservation.com/homepagefiles/model.jpg

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An Information board at the Sharjah Natural History Museum, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

Life on a Miocene River: During the late Miocene Period (8 to 6 million years ago) a rich variety of animals lived around a large river system (similar to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers) in western Abu Dhabi. These included ancestors of modern elephants, horses, crocodiles, giraffes, rhinoceros and cattle. Although throughout the Sharjah region the late Miocene climate was arid, around this river shrubs, rushes and acacia-like trees grew. Foto: Dr. Norman Ali Khalafvon Jaffa. 01. July 2010. http://arabian-four-tusked-elephant.webs.com/arabianelephant.htm

Profil Taxonu (Taxon Profile in Czech): Poddruh (Subspecies): Arabian Four-Tusked Elephant Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus Khalaf, 2010. The Biological Library (BioLib.cz). https://www.biolib.cz/cz/taxon/id890499/

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The Fossil Elephant Trackway at Mleisa In Abu Dhabi’s Western Region, between the low dunes south of the Baynunah Forest Plantation, a group of white, stony plains are visible on satellite photographs. Though rather unremarkable to look at, these plains hold a fascinating secret – the fossilised footprints of animals which lived here about eight million years ago. The first of these spectacular fossil sites was drawn to the attention of ADIAS in 2001 by Mubarak bin Rashid bin Mubarak Al-Mansouri, Public relations and Transport Co-ordinator for the Jebel Dhanna terminal of the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations, ADCO. During fieldwork by ADIAS at Jebel Dhanna, Mubarak persuaded the ADIAS team of Dan Hull and Steve Rowland to come out with him into the desert to look at what he said were possible 'dinosaur footprints', which had long been known to his family.

He took them to a plain at Mleisa where there were, indeed, large fossilised footprints, later shown to be from a period long after the dinosaurs. Further visits were then made

by ADIAS, and a detailed survey of the Mleisa site was carried out in 2003, when measurements were taken. This showed that the footprints are very large and roughly circular, some showing faint traces of toes. Given the Miocene age of the sediment, the only types of animal which could have made such footprints are elephants (Will Higgs, 2005).

Why are these fossil footprints so interesting? All kinds of fossils are a valuable resource for palaeontologists trying to recreate past faunas and environments, but fossil bones are usually the only source of information about the animals of the time. As with most fossil bones, the remains of Abu Dhabi’s Miocene fauna are found in sediments which have been laid down by water, but many of the animal species are not aquatic, so their bones are found places where they did not actually live. Bones can be carried long distances in a river, or by predators, and this transport and accumulation of bones after death makes deductions about the habitat of the animal during life difficult. Fossil bones also provide very little information about the behaviour of the animals concerned.

The discovery of an extensive trackway of Proboscidean (Elephant family) footprints at Mleisa is, therefore, of great significance because it is an additional and alternative type of fossil evidence.

Such fossils can only be preserved in the exact place where they were created. Fossil footprints preserve a snapshot of past animal behaviour, and show that we are looking at a preserved ancient ground surface. They also show that the animals chose to spend at least some of their time in that particular spot (Will Higgs, 2005).

Many fossil footprints have been discovered in other parts of the world, but it is often difficult to link them to a contemporary animal. In the United States, for example, palaeontologists may find dinosaur bones at one site, and footprints which may have been made by that type of animal at another site hundreds of miles away. The link between the two must always remain tentative and is almost impossible to prove. At Mleisa, however, the footprints are close to the sites that have produced fossil elephant bones at Ruwais and Shuwaihat and lie within the same well-defined geological Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – ISSN 0178-6288 – Number 98 – February 2010

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formation. Finding footprints and the bones of the animals which may have created them in relatively close proximity is very unusual. As the overwhelming majority of Proboscidean bones recovered from the Baynunah formation have been from Stegotetrabelodon syrticus it is tempting to assign the footprints to that species, but small fragments of two other Proboscideans show that they too were present in this palaeoenvironment.

View of the main trackway site at Mleisa (Photograph by ADIAS). http://www.adias-uae.com/mleisa.html

The footprints at Mleisa are on the light-coloured, level floor of an oval stony depression approximately 500 meter long among low dunes and outcrops of soft rock.

The outcrops are of silty and sandy indurated water-lain sediments typical of the Baynunah Formation. (‘Indurated’ means sediment which has been cemented by salts such as gypsum or lime.) The surface containing the footprints is broken up into polygonal pieces, indicating that the original sediment had been wet, and had dried out.

Around the edges of the depression other examples of similar whitish layers, with similar polygonal fracturing, can be seen up to one meter above the floor of the main depression. So the substrate was probably soft saline silt at the time of imprinting, and it became indurated light-grey marl (calcareous mudstone).

Most of the footprints seem to have dislodged some of the surrounding polygonal fragments, showing that the elephants were not wading; they crossed the area after it had dried out. Was this surface a seasonal lake bed, a temporary pool of rain or flood water (such as may form in the desert today after heavy rain), or perhaps sabkha ? Only further study by geologists will reveal the original nature of the deposit (Will Higgs, 2005).

The Mleisa trackway consists of a group of up to 14 roughly parallel tracks, with one larger track crossing them. The main trackway can be followed for about 170 metres before it disappears under overlying sediment, while the visible portion of the larger track is 290 metres long. It seems that the elephants may have been crossing the area Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – ISSN 0178-6288 – Number 98 – February 2010

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frequently, as some of the parallel tracks appear to run in opposite directions.

Measurements of pace, stride and width of three tracks were made, showing that the single track crossing the main group was made by a much larger animal with a stride of over three metres, perhaps a lone male.

View of a part of the proboscidean trackway at Mleisa, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Photograph by Dan Hull / ADIAS. http://www.adias-uae.com/mleisa.html

At first sight, the footprints are disappointing in that they are indistinct in shape, showing very little morphological detail; perhaps due to the muddy sediment flowing back into the depression after the foot was removed. Also, when walking slowly, most four-legged animals place the hind foot in exactly the same place as the front, creating a composite, rather messy imprint. A further complicating factor is the possibility that the Proboscideans may actually have been walking on an overlying layer of sediment, and what we see are blunt indentations punched through the surface by their great weight.

Pace, stride and track width measurements are, nevertheless, reliable indicators of the animals’ size, even if derived from indistinct footprints. In order to obtain some idea of the track-makers’ relative size, measurements were made of the tracks of modern Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) at Blackpool Zoo, in Britain, for comparison. The Mleisa track-makers were considerably larger than Asian elephants (Will Higgs, 2005).

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The tracks of three female Asian elephants were recorded at Blackpool Zoo in the U.K. These elephants had a shoulder height of about 2.5 metres. Comparison of the walking pattern of the modern elephants and of the fossil footprints suggests that the ancient elephants must have been significantly larger than their modern Asian counterparts, perhaps with a shoulder height of 3 metres or more.

Much further work requires to be carried out at this site to map it at high resolution and make more elaborate measurements of the trackways. It can be seen from satellite images of the area that the white stone plain in which the footprints were found is only a small part of an extensive sweep of similar outcrops stretching many kilometers to the east and west. A brief survey of a nearby stony plain at Mleisa has revealed more Proboscidean footprints and the tracks of a cloven-hoofed animal like an antelope. To the west of Mleisa at Niqa isolated footprints of two types were observed at two locations on a fossilized mud plain. Three prints left by an animal with a five toed foot around 28cm across were noted.

Future scientific analysis of these trackways and their associated sediments will reveal much about past faunas, environments and climate change (Will Higgs, 2005).

Comparison of the track measurements between modern Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) from Blackpool Zoo with three examples from the Mleisa site (after Will Higgs, 2005).

Track Stride (cm) Mleisa track 1 306 Mleisa track 2 267 Mleisa track 3 264 Modern Asian elephant 241

Pace (cm) 173 136 137 127

Width (cm) 128 86 94 77

The Mleisa Fossil Elephant Trackway 2012 Herds of elephants weighing up to five tonnes freely roamed in Abu Dhabi about seven million years ago, a recent archaeological study shows (Gulf News, 2012).

The world's oldest elephant tracks have now been revealed, 7-million-year-old footprints in the Arabian Desert, researchers say.

These prehistoric footsteps, likely the work of some 13 four-tusked elephant ancestors, are the earliest direct evidence of how the ancestors of modern elephants interacted socially, and the oldest evidence of an elephant herd (Choi, 2012).

A team of archaeologists from the UAE, the US, France, and Germany worked on the site and prepared the study which revealed visually stunning trackways in Mleisa 1 area in Baynouna, in Abu Dhabi's Western Region (Gulf News, 2012).

"Basically, this is fossilized behavior," said researcher Faysal Bibi, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Museum for Natural History in Berlin. "This is an absolutely unique site, a really rare opportunity in the fossil record that lets you see animal Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – ISSN 0178-6288 – Number 98 – February 2010

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behavior in a way you couldn't otherwise do with bones or teeth."

The site, known as Mleisa 1, is in the United Arab Emirates. The region then was home to a great diversity of animals, including elephants, hippopotamuses, antelopes, giraffes, pigs, monkeys, rodents, small and large carnivores including sabre tooth tigers, ostriches, turtles, crocodiles and fish. These were sustained by a very large river flowing slowly through the area, along which flourished vegetation, including large trees. The animals resembled those from Africa during the same time, though there are also similarities with Asian and European species of that period (Choi, 2012).

Fossil trackways in the region have been long known to locals, and were taken to be the prints of dinosaurs or giants of ancient myth. It was not until January 2011, when researchers mapped the area from the air for the first time, "that we realized what we had and how we could go about studying it," Bibi said (Choi, 2012).

"Once we saw it aerially, it became a much different and clearer story," said researcher Brian Kraatz at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, Calif. "Seeing the whole site in one shot meant we could finally understand what was happening."

The footprints cover an area of 12.3 acres (5 hectares). This is about equal to nine U.S. football fields, seven soccer fields, or the base of the Great Pyramid of Giza (Choi, 2012).

"The trackways are visually stunning," said researcher Andrew Hill at the University of Poitiers in France. "It is quite obvious to anyone, without any technical knowledge, that these are the footprints of very large animals, and to learn that they are over 6 million years old presents a visitor with the sensation of walking back in time.”

A reconstruction of the Mleisa 1 herd, based upon Stegotetrabelodon as the track maker. Footprints made by early elephants seven million years ago - the oldest ever discovered - have been unveiled by scientists. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2104522/Scientists-uncoveroldest-elephant-tracks---perfectly-preserved-seven-million-years.html

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Close-up of the kite aerial photomosaic with color mapping of the trackways. https://www.livescience.com/18584-earliest-elephant-tracks-photos.html

An aerial view showing the main trackway section at the site. The tracks in the Arabian Desert show how the elephant's prehistoric ancestors engaged in both solitary and herding behaviour. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2104522/Scientists-uncover-oldest-elephanttracks---perfectly-preserved-seven-million-years.html

The researchers noted that while these prehistoric titans were proboscideans like modern elephants, they likely looked quite different. Of the three kinds of fossil proboscidean species in the area at that time, the one that most likely made the Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – ISSN 0178-6288 – Number 98 – February 2010

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trackways was Stegotetrabelodon syrticus, the earliest known member of the elephant family, "which carried tusks in both its upper and lower jaws," Bibi told LiveScience.

The trackways stretch up to about 850 feet (260 meters) long, making them "the most extensive ever recorded for mammals, and to view them is to be transported 7 million years back in time when herds of four-tusked primitive elephants and other related behemoths roamed a wetter and more vegetated Arabian Peninsula," said paleontologist William Sanders at the University of Michigan, who did not take part in the study (Choi, 2012).

An aerial view of the elephant tracks, covering an area equal to nine U.S. football fields, revealed the stunning footprints. Image credit: Biology Letters. https://www.livescience.com/18584-earliest-elephant-tracks-photos.html

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An individual print at the site, in the western region of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2104522/Scientists-uncover-oldest-elephanttracks---perfectly-preserved-seven-million-years.html

Taxon Profile: The Subspecies: Arabian Four-Tusked Elephant Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus Khalaf, 2010. The Biological Library (BioLib.cz). https://www.biolib.cz/cz/taxon/id890499/

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The footprints in the trackway (shown at left) likely came from 13 four-tusked elephant ancestors. Shown right, one of the better-preserved prints in the trackway. Image credit: Biology Letters. https://www.livescience.com/18584-earliest-elephant-tracks-photos.html

Actually mapping these footsteps proved challenging, since the individual tracks are each only about 15 inches (40 centimeters) wide, too small to show up in satellite imagery. To do so, researchers mounted a pocket digital camera onto a kite, stitching the hundreds of pictures it took into a single large mosaic image that gave a broad overview of the site.

Analysis of the footsteps suggests they belonged to a herd of at least 13 elephants of different sizes and ages that walked through mud, leaving behind tracks that hardened, were buried, and then re-exposed by erosion.

The researchers also discovered tracks from a solitary male traveling in a different direction from the herd. These suggest the extinct giants divided into solitary and social groups, just as elephants do today. Also, these ancient pachyderms might have structured themselves along lines of sex just as their modern relatives do, with the males leaving the herd to live alone (Choi, 2012).

"Like the human handprints in Paleolithic caves, animal trackways crystallize in time [the] identity and behavior of the organisms that made them, and yield rare insights about these organisms, which fossil bones alone cannot provide," Sanders said.

Co-author Professor Andrew Hill said: “The trackways are visually stunning. [They} present a visitor with the sensation of walking back in time, across a Miocene landscape where elephants might have strolled by, just a little time before.” (Cohen, 2012).

Distribution

Stegotetrabelodon syrticus is an extinct species of elephants from the Miocene of Northern Africa, Southern Europe and Arabia. Rare Stegotetrabelodon syrticus fossil remains were found in the Sahabi formation at the northeast Sirt Basin, Libya, and from Cessaniti in Calabria, Southern Italy, and the subspecies Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus from Al Gharbia (Western Region) in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

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An isolated track from the herd of proboscideans in the Arabian Desert. Image credit: © Faysal Bibi. https://www.livescience.com/18584-earliest-elephant-tracks-photos.html

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Researcher Faysal Bibi brushes out a fossil print. Analysis of stride lengths revealed a diversity of sizes from adults to a young calf. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article2104522/Scientists-uncover-oldest-elephant-tracks---perfectly-preserved-seven-million-years.html

Original drawing page 121 in: E. Ray Lankester. 1905. Extinct Animals. London, Archibald Constable & Co. www.adias-uae.com/images/fig83.jpg

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Taxon Profile: The Subspecies: Arabian Four-Tusked Elephant Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus Khalaf, 2010. The Biological Library (BioLib.cz). https://www.biolib.cz/cz/taxon/id890499/

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Conclusion: After studying and examining the different fossil remains of † Stegotetrabelodon syrticus from Al Gharbia (Western Region), Abu Dhabi, and comparing with the species † Stegotetrabelodon syrticus from Libya and southern Italy, and referring to many zoological references, and searching the Internet, I came finally to a conclusion that we are in front of a new fossil subspecies of the Four-Tusked Elephant from Al Gharbia (Western Region), Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

I gave it the scientific name † Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus, new fossil subspecies. The subspecies name emiratus is Latin for the "Emirates", from where the described fossils were found.

† Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus, new fossil subspecies: Scientific trinomial name: † Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus Khalaf, 2010.

Authority: Dr. Norman Ali Bassam Khalaf-von Jaffa.

Common Names: Arabian Four-Tusked Elephant, Emirati Four-Tusked Elephant.

Holotype Fossils: Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey (ADIAS) Collection.

Location: Al Gharbia (Western Region), Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The Arabian Four-Tusked Elephant Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus Khalaf, 2010. ZooBank. http://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/720d89c9-3228-40e0-8670-c3af66d00a3f

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The Arabian Four-Tusked Elephant Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus Khalaf, 2010. ZooBank. http://zoobank.org/References/e6448dde-a699-4dd3-9073-7020dbd0074b

Etymology / Derivation of Scientific Name: Stegotetrabelodon in Greek, stego means "roof" and refers to the roof-like rows of plates on the molar surfaces; tetra belodon means "four tusks" in reference to two upper and two lower tusks. Syrticus is Latin for "Sirt" in Libya, from where the species was first described in 1941. The subspecies name emiratus is Latin for the "Emirates", from where the described fossils were found.

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Abdul Hafeez from the Private Department of His Highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan works on the scale model (1:20) of a Stegotetrabelodon syrticus. This is a primitive 4tusked elephant which lived in Abu Dhabi 6-8 million years ago (Photograph: Dr Mark Beech).

Constructing the scale model of Stegotetrabelodon syrticus Although there have been other attempted depictions of similar animals in the form of sketches and paintings, such as that by Dr Henry Woodward of Tetralophodon angustidens in E. Ray Lancaster’s book “Extinct Animals” published in 1905, Mauricio Anton in the publication on the Logatham fossil site in Tanzania, and even an example on postage stamps in Libya, this model is the first lifelike reconstruction ever attempted of a Stegotetrabelodon. Hopefully in the future there will be an opportunity to reconstruct a full-size version ! This would provide an attractive feature of a Miocene section of the Early History of Abu Dhabi gallery in a future National Museum in Abu Dhabi.

The model you can see in the display is a ca. 20% size scale model of the primitive elephant species, Stegotetrabelodon syrticus. Work on the design and production of this model took over one year to complete. The master model was made by Abdul and Izhar

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Hafeez and their staff from the Private Department of the late President, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

A wooden and metal frame was first constructed, around which steel netting was shaped. This provided a surface onto which modeling clay could then be applied. The body of the animal was then patiently sculpted in clay by Abdul Hafeez. This was carried out under the scientific guidance of Dr. Mark Beech. All efforts were made to use the fossil specimens obtained from Shuwaihat and Ruwais to help determine the correct proportions, size and morphology of the animal. It was estimated that the shoulder height of a Stegotetrabelodon would have been at least 3m.

Once the master model was completed a fiberglass mould was then made. The actual model was then cast from the mould using resin. Final touches included painting the model surface with textured paint and the addition of body hair (Hafeez, Abdul; Izhar Hafeez and Dr. Mark Beech, 2005).

Detail of the head of the Stegotetrabelodon syrticus (Photograph: Dr Mark Beech).

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Photograph of the complete skeleton of Mastodon (Tetrabelodon) angustidens. Page 116 in: E. Ray Lankester. 1905. Extinct Animals. London, Archibald Constable & Co. http://www.adiasuae.com/images/fig79.jpg

References and Internet Websites: 6 to 8 million years old fossils to go on display. www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2004/May/theuae_May 581.xml&section=theuae&col= Abu Dhabi 8 million years ago. An exhibition of Late Miocene Fossils from the Western Region. www.adias-uae.com/fossils.html ADIAS Press releases and Press coverage – 2004. www.adias-uae.com/press2004.html Agusti, J., A. El-Arnauti, S. Moyá Solá, M. Köhler, A. Galobart, R. Gaete, and M. Llenas (2000). Results of a field-campaign in the Late Miocene of the Sahabi Formation (Lybia).

Abstracts XIth RCMNS Congress, Fez (Marocco) 1:59.

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_Western_Region/10267.htm Ancient Elephant jaw discovered in Abu Dhabi (5 January 2009). www.dubaieye1038.com/News/Pages/NewsDetails.aspx?ListItemID=854 Archibald, J. David. Fossils of Abu Dhabi. www.americanscientist.org/bookshelf/pub/fossils-of-abu-dhabi Beech, Dr. Mark (2005). The Late Miocene fossil site at Ruwais. in : Edited by Mark Beech and Peter Hellyer. Abu Dhabi – 8 Million Years Ago: Late Miocene Fossils from the Western Region. www.markbeech.com/pdf/Beech-and-Hellyer-2005-Abu-Dhabi8mya.pdf

Beech, Dr. Mark and Peter Hellyer (Editors) (2005). Abu Dhabi 8 Million Years Ago Late Miocene Fossils from the Western Region. Edited by. Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey (ADIAS)/ Dar Al Fajr Printing Press, Abu Dhabi, UAE. 68 pages; 73 figures, maps, plans, drawings, photographs. ISBN 9948-03-188-1. Price: 20 DH (equivalent to $ 4 USD). http://www.adias-uae.com/publications.html Beech, M. and W. Higgs. A New Late Miocene Fossil Site in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi Emirate. In: P. Hellyer and M. Ziolkowski (eds.), Emirates Heritage 1. Proceedings of the First Annual Symposium on Recent Archaeological Discoveries in the Emirates, Al Ain, 2003. Zayed Centre for Heritage and History: Al Ain. Bergounioux, F. M. and F. Crouzel (1960). Tetralophodon curvirostris n.sp. (Mammalia, Proboscidea) aus dem Unterpliozän (Pontien) von Esselborn (Rheinhessen). Jahrbücher und Mitteilungen der oberheinessen geologische Verein 42:109–121.

Bernor, R. L., M. Fortelius, and L. Rook (2001). Evolutionary biogeography and paleoecology of the “Oreopithecus bambolii Faunal Zone” (late Miocene, Tusco-Sardinian Province). Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana 40:139–148.

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Higgs, Will (1 6 .0 1 .2 0 0 3 ). Giant elephant tusk found in desert: find thought to be eight million years old. Quelle: alphagalileo. www.innovationsreport.de/html/berichte/geowissenschaften/bericht-15811.html Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – ISSN 0178-6288 – Number 98 – February 2010

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Higgs, Will (2005). The Fossil Trackway at Mleisa. in : Edited by Mark Beech and Peter Hellyer. Abu Dhabi – 8 Million Years Ago: Late Miocene Fossils from the Western Region. www.markbeech.com/pdf/Beech-and-Hellyer-2005-Abu-Dhabi-8mya.pdf Higgs, W.; A. Gardner and M. Beech (2005). A Fossil Proboscidean Trackway at Mleisa, Western Region of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In: P. Hellyer and M. Ziolkowski (eds.), Emirates Heritage Vol. 1 - Proceedings of the 1st Annual Symposium on Recent Palaeontological and Archaeological Discoveries in the Emirates, Al Ain. Zayed Centre for Heritage and History, Al Ain. pp.21-27. ISBN 9948-06-130-6.

Higgs, W.; A. Kirkham, G. Evans and D. Hull (2003). A Late Miocene Proboscidean Trackway from Mleisa, Western Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Tribulus (Journal of the Emirates Natural History Group) 13.2: 3-8. www.adiasuae.com/publications/higgsetal03.pdf Hill, A. and P.J. Whybrow (1999). Summary and Overview of the Baynunah Fauna, Emirate of Abu Dhabi and Its context. Chapter 2 in P.J. Whybrow and A. Hill (eds.), Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia. Yale University Press: New Haven, CT. pp.7-14.

Hill, A., P.J. Whybrow and W. Yasin Al Tikriti (1999). History of Palaeontological Research in the Western Region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Chapter 3 in P.J. Whybrow and A. Hill (eds.), Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia. Yale University Press: New Haven, CT. pp.15-23.

Hopwood, A. T. (1935). Fossil Proboscidea from China. Paleontologia Sinica, series C 9:31–108.

Illiger, C. (1811). Prodromus Systematis Mammalium et Avium. vol. 8, Berolini, 301 pp.

Important New Fossils Found in Abu Dhabi. www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2010/January/theuae_Ja nuary685.xml&section=theuae&col= Important new fossils found in Abu Dhabi. www.wam.org.ae/servlet/Satellite?c=WamLocEnews&cid=1261832946853&p=1135099 400124&pagename=WAM%2FWamLocEnews%2FW-T-LEN-FullNews Jongbloed, Marijcke (March/April 2006). Fossils everywhere. www.alshindagah.com/marapr2006/fossils.html Kalb, E. J. and A. Mebrate (1993). Fossil elephantoids from the hominid-bearing Awash Group, Middle Awash Valley, Afar Depression, Ethiopia. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 83:11–114.

Kalb, E. J. and A. Mebrate (1994). Interrelationships of Late Neogene Elephantoids: New evidence from the middle Awash Valley, Afar, Ethiopia. Géobios 28:727–736.

Khalaf, Norman Ali Bassam (1980). Tabie’t Al-Talawon fi Al-Haywanat (The Colouration of Animals). Al-Biology Bulletin. Number 1. January 1980, Safar 1401.

Biological Society, Kuwait University, State of Kuwait. pp. 4-5. (in Arabic).

Khalaf, Norman (1982). A’maar Al-Haywanat (Animal Ages). Al-Biology Bulletin.

Number 18, Third Year, First Semester, Saturday 6.11.1982. Biological Society, Kuwait University, State of Kuwait. pp. 7. (in Arabic).

Khalaf-von Jaffa, Norman Ali Bassam (1992). An Introduction to the Animal Life in Palestine. Gazelle. Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin. Bonn-Bad Godesberg, Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – ISSN 0178-6288 – Number 98 – February 2010

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Federal Republic of Germany. Number 30, Tenth Year, October 1992. pp. 1-7. (in Arabic).

Khalaf-von Jaffa, Norman Ali Bassam (1994). An Introduction to the Animal Life in Palestine. Shqae’q Al-Nouma’n (Anemone coronaria). A Quarterly Magazine Issued by the Program EAI (Education for Awareness and for Involvement). Environmental Education / Children for Nature Protection. In Cooperation with Dept. of General and Higher Education. P.L.O., Palestine. Number 4. Huzairan (June) 1994. pp. 16-21. (in Arabic).

Two Asiatic Elephants (Elephas maximus) are seen behind the author and his wife Ola Mostafa Khalaf at Zoo Neunkirchen, Neunkirchen, Saarland, Germany. Photo by our daughter: Nora Norman Ali Khalaf, 10. July 2011. http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/display/25293367

Khalaf-von Jaffa, Norman Ali (2004). Gazelle: Das Palästinensische Biologische Bulletin.

Eine Wissenschaftliche Reise in Palästina, Arabien und Europa zwischen 1983 – 2004 / Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin. A Scientific Journey in Palestine, Arabia and Europe between 1983 – 2004. ISBN 3-00-014121-9. Erste Auflage, Juli 2004: 452 Seiten. Zweite erweiterte Auflage, August 2004: 460 Seiten. Publisher: Norman Ali Khalaf, Bonn-Bad Godesberg, Germany. http://dr-norman-ali-khalafbooks.webs.com/& eBook: https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/59405994/book-gazelle-thepalestinian-biological-bulletin-a-scientific-journey-in-palestine-arabia-and-europebetween-1983-2004-by-norman-ali-khalaf-von-jaffa-2004 Khalaf, Norman Ali (2005, 2006, 2007). Chapter 3: Geography, Flora and Fauna. Pages 32-39.in: Palestine: A Guide. By Mariam Shahin, Photography by George Azar. CoAuthor: Norman Ali Khalaf. Northampton, Massachusetts: Interlink Publishing Group, 2005, 2006, 2007. xi + 471 pages. Appendices to page 500. http://ipsnewsite.mysite4now.com/journals.aspx?id=7323&jid=1&href=fulltext Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – ISSN 0178-6288 – Number 98 – February 2010

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An Asiatic Elephant (Elephas maximus) at the Zoologischer Garten Berlin (Berlin Zoological Garden), Berlin, Germany. Foto: Ola Mostafa Khalaf, 14. July 2011. www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/display/25290300

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Khalaf-von Jaffa, Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2006). Mammalia Palaestina: The Mammals of Palestine / Die Säugetiere Palästinas. Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin. Number 55, Twenty-fourth Year, July 2006, Jumada Al-Thania 1427. Pp. 1-46.

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa, Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2007). Haywanat Filistin (Fauna of Palestine). In: Wikipedia-Arabic, Al-Mawsu'a Al-Hurra (The Free Encyclopedia). Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin. Number 69, September 2007, Sha’ban 1428 AH. pp. 1-4. (Article in Arabic). http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7 %D8%AA_%D9%81%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B7%D9%8A%D9%86 Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa, Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2009). Flora and Fauna in Palestine. Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin. ISSN 0178 – 6288.

Number 91, July 2009, Rajab 1430 AH. pp. 1-31. Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. http://flora-fauna-palestine.webs.com/ Khalaf-von Jaffa, Dr. Norman Ali Bassam (2009). Fauna Palaestina – Part One. A Zoological Journey in Palestine, Arabia and Europe between 1983 – 2006 / Fauna Palaestina – Teil Eins. Eine Zoologische Reise in Palästina, Arabien und Europa zwischen 1983 – 2006. ISBN 978-9948-03-865-8. Erste Auflage/First Edition, September 2009: 412 Seiten/Pages. Self Publisher: Dr. Norman Ali Bassam Khalaf-von Jaffa, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates & Rilchingen-Hanweiler, Bundesrepublik Deutschland. http://dr-norman-ali-khalaf-books.webs.com/faunapalaestinapart1.htm & eBook: https://www.yumpu.com/xx/document/view/59498633/fauna-palaestina-1-bookby-dr-norman-ali-khalaf-2009 Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa, Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2010). † Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus Khalaf, 2010 : A New Fossil Four-Tusked Elephant Subspecies from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin. ISSN 0178 – 6288. Volume 28, Number 98, February 2010, Safar 1431 AH. pp. 1-60. Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. https://issuu.com/drnormanalibassamkhalaf/docs/stegotetrabelodon_syrticus_emiratus_khalaf_2010__a Khalaf-von Jaffa, Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2010). Fauna Emiratus - Part One. Zoological Studies in the United Arab Emirates between 2004 - 2009. / Fauna Emiratus – Teil Eins. Zoologische Studien in die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate zwischen 2004 - 2009. ISBN 978-9948-15-462-4. Erste Auflage/First Edition, November 2010: 350 Seiten / Pages. Self Publisher: Dr. Norman Ali Bassam Khalaf-von Jaffa, Dubai and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates & Rilchingen-Hanweiler, Bundesrepublik Deutschland. http://dr-norman-ali-khalaf-books.webs.com/faunaemiratuspart1.htm & eBook: https://www.yumpu.com/xx/document/view/59546804/fauna-emiratuspart-1-zoological-studies-in-the-united-arab-emirates-between-2004-2009-by-drnorman-ali-bassam-khalaf-von-jaffa-2010 Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa, Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2011). Taxon Profile: Subspecies: Arabian Four-Tusked Elephant Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus Khalaf, 2010. The Biological Library (BioLib.cz). https://www.biolib.cz/cz/taxon/id890499/ Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa, Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2011). Profil Taxonu Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – ISSN 0178-6288 – Number 98 – February 2010

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(Taxon Profile in Czech): Poddruh (Subspecies): Arabian Four-Tusked Elephant Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus Khalaf, 2010. The Biological Library (BioLib.cz). https://www.biolib.cz/cz/taxon/id890499/ Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa, Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2016).

Haywanat Falastin (Fauna of Palestine) ‫ ﺣﯾواﻧﺎت ﻓﻠﺳطﯾن‬. Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin. ISSN 0178 – 6288. Volume 34, Number 144, December 2016, pp. 1-18. Dubai and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (In Arabic). http://animals-of-palestine2.webs.com/fauna-of-palestine-arabic Khalaf, Prof. Dr. Norman Ali (02.01.2017). Studying the Siberian Wooly Mammoth Skeleton of Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/dr.norman.ali.khalaf/posts/10154799849319831 Khalaf, Prof. Dr. Norman Ali Bassam (28.04.2017). Woolly Mammoth Skeleton of Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi 24.04.2017. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7BSJQgjmUM Khalaf, Prof. Dr. Norman Ali Bassam (2020). Khalaf, Norman A. B. 2010.

Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus Khalaf, 2010 : A New Fossil Four-Tusked Elephant Subspecies from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. References.

ZooBank. http://zoobank.org/References/e6448dde-a699-4dd3-9073-7020dbd0074b Khalaf, Prof. Dr. Norman Ali Bassam (2020). Stegotetrabelodon syrticus emiratus Khalaf, 2010. Nomenclatural Acts. ZooBank. http://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/720d89c9-3228-40e0-8670-c3af66d00a3f Klähn, H. (1922). Die badischen Mastodonten und ihre süddeutchen Verwandten. Gebrüder Borntraeger, Berlin, 134 pp.

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Mûmakil, the Four-tusked Elephants in the film “The Lord of the Rings”. Mûmakil are oversized elephants originating from within the jungle of Far Harad and were often used in battle by the Haradrim. To most cultures, the Mûmakil, or Oliphaunts, were creatures of legend, as fabulous and fearsome as dragons, and to them were ascribed all kinds of strange powers.

Oliphaunt was another name for them given to them by the Hobbits. Mûmak resemble elephants, except they have four tusks, instead of two. http://arwenundomiel.com/images/creatures.php?page=4

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Maglio, V. J. (1973). Origin and evolution of the Elephantidae. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 63:31–144.

Maglio, V. J. and A. B. Ricca (1977). Dental and skeletal morphology of the earliest elephants. Verhandlungen Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen 29:1– 51.

Making a model of Stegotetrabelodon syrticus. www.adias-uae.com/themodel.html Mazza, P. and M. Rustioni (1996). The Turolian fossil artiodactyls from Scontrone (Abruzzi, central Italy). Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana 35:93–106.

Miocene fossils from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. www.adiasuae.com/fossils . [Website of the Natural History Museum-Yale University Abu Dhabi Miocene Project, established by the late Peter J. Whybrow and Andrew Hill, in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO) and the UAE Ministry for Higher Education and Scientific Research].

Mleisa – ADIAS Guide. www.adias-uae.com/mleisa.html Montcharmont Zei, M. and U. Montcharmont (1987). Metaxytherium medium nelle arenarie tortoniane di Santa Domenica di Ricadi (Catanzaro). Memorie di Scienze Geologiche 29:285–341.

New fossil discoveries in Abu Dhabi's Western Region. www.godubai.com/gulftoday/printarc.asp?aid=140209 Nicotera, P. (1959). Rilevamento geologico del versante settentrionale del monte Poro (Calabria). Memorie e Note dell’Istituto di Geologia Applicata di Napoli 7:1–92.

Ogniben, L. (1973). Schema geologico della Calabria in base ai dati odierni. Geologica Romana 12:243–585.

Opening of Exhibition of Ancient Elephant Fossils - Transports you back to Abu Dhabi 8 million years ago: A land of fertile plains & rivers. November 26, 2005. www.ead.ae/en/news/opening.of.exhibiti.aspx Papazzoni, C. A. and A. Sirotti (1999). Heterostegina papyracea Seguenza, 1880 from the upper Miocene of Cessaniti (Vibo Valentia, Calabria, southern Italy). Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana 38:15–21.

Petrocchi, C. (1941). Il giacimento fossilifero di Sahabi. Bollettino della Società Geologica Italiana 60(1):107–114.

Petrocchi, C. (1943). Sahabi, eine neue Seite in der Geschichte der Erde. Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geologie und Paläontologie, Stuttgart 1943-B: 1-9.

Petrocchi, C. (1943). Il giacimento fossilifero di Sahabi. Collezione Scientifica e Documentaria a cura del Ministero dell’Africa Italiana 12:1–162.

Petrocchi, C. (1951). Nota preliminare allo studio di alcuni resti fossili del giacimento di esSahabi, riferibili a Proboscidati e a Bovidi.

Petrocchi, C. (1951). — Note sulla fauna terziaria de Sahabi. Relazioni della Società Italiana per il Progresso delle Scienze, Rome 42 (1): 479-481.

Petrocchi, C. (1954). Paleontologia di Sahabi (Cirenaica). I proboscidati di Sahabi.

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Centre International pour la Formation et les Echanges Géologiques, Orléans, 190 pp.

Proboscidian (Elephant Family). Stegotetrabelodon syrticus. www.skullsite.co.uk/prints/palaeontological/stegotet/stegotet.htm Rögl, F. (1999). Mediterranean and parathetys paleogeography during the Oligocene and Miocene;. pp. 8–22 in J. Agustí, L. Rook, and P. Andrews (eds.), The Evolution of Neogene Terrestrial Ecosystems in Europe. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Article about the discovery of three elephant bone pieces in Umm Al Ishtan, UAE. http://www.adias-uae.com/press/al-ittihad-29-april-06-p3.jpg

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Rook, L., L. Abbazzi, and B. Engesser (1999). An overview on the Italian Miocene land mammal faunas;. pp. 191–204 in J. Agustí, L. Rook and P. Andrews (eds), The Evolution of Neogene Terrestrial Ecosystems in Europe. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

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The Year of the Elephant (570 or 571 A.D.). It was in this year that Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was born. The name is derived from an event said to have occurred at Mecca, Arabia: Abraha, the Abyssinian, Christian ruler of Yemen, which was subject to the Kingdom of Aksum of Ethiopia, marched upon the Ka‘bah in Mecca with a large army, which included war elephants, intending to demolish it. However, the lead elephant, known as 'Mahmud', is said to have stopped at the boundary around Mecca, and refused to enter. When the army reached near the Ka'bah, an army of Allah appeared from the western side. A dark cloud of small birds (known in Arabic as Ababil) overshadowed the entire army of Abraha. Each bird had three pebbles: two in its claws and one in its beak. A rain of the pebbles poured down from the birds, and in a few minutes, the whole army was destroyed. Abraha himself was seriously wounded; he fled towards Yemen but died on the way. Another theory mentions that it was an epidemic, perhaps caused by smallpox, could have caused such a failed invasion of Mecca. The year came to be known as the Year of the Elephant, beginning a trend for reckoning the years in the Arabian Peninsula. This reckoning was used until it was replaced with the Islamic calendar during the times of Khalifa (Caliph) Omar Bin Al Khattab. http://arabic.bayynat.org.lb/ArticlePage.aspx?id=4392

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Sinclair, Mehded Maryam (2010). Miraculous Happenings in the Year of the Elephant.

Publisher: Hijaz, ISBN-13: 978-0860374916.

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Tassy, P. (2001). Elephantoidea from Lothagam. In: M.G. Leakey and J. M. Harris (eds.), Lothagam: the Dawn of Humanity in Eastern Africa. Columbia University Press: New York. pp.331-358.

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Tobien, H. (1973). On the evolution of Mastodonts (Proboscidea, Mammalia). Part 1: The bunodont trilophodont Groups. Notizblatt des Hessischen Landesamtes für Bodenforschung zu Wiesbaden 101:202–276.

Tobien, H. (1978). On the evolution of Mastodonts (Proboscidea, Mammalia). Part 2: The bunodont tetralophodont Groups. Geologische Jahrbuch, Hessen 196:159–208.

Tobien, H., G. Chen, and Y. Li (1988). Mastodonts (Proboscidea, Mammalia) from the Late Neogene and Early Pleistocene of the People’s Republic of China. Part 2: the genera Tetralophodon, Anancus, Stegotetrabelodon, Zygolophodon, Mammut, Stegolophodon; some generalities on the Chinese mastodonts. Mainzner Geowissenschaften Mitteilungen 17:95–220.

Todorova, Vesela. Abu Dhabi 8 million years ago: fossils help paint ancient portrait. www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100116/NATIONAL/701159766 Torre, D., L. Abbazzi, M. Delfino, F. Fanfani, M. P. Ferretti, G. Ficcarelli, P. Mazza, M. Rustioni, and L. Rook (2000). Mammal palaeobioprovinces in the Italian Miocene.

Abstracts XIth RCMNS Congress, Fez (Marocco) 1:43.

Tracking the Ancient Elephant. www.brad.ac.uk/admin/pr/march2004/elephant.php Vacek, M. (1877). Über Österreichische Mastodonten und ihre Beziehungen zu den Mastodonarten Europas. Abhandlungen der K.K. Reichsmuseum 7:1–45.

Vine, P.J. and I. Al Abed (eds.) (1996). Natural Emirates – Wildlife and Environment of the United Arab Emirates. Trident Press, London. ISBN: 1-900724-02-2. (especially Chapter 3, “The Fossil Record” by P.J. Whybrow, A. Smith and A. Hill, pages 42-50).

Vogt, B., W. Gockel, H. Hofbauer and A.A. al-Haj (1983). The Coastal Survey in the Western Province of Abu Dhabi, 1983. Archaeology in the United Arab Emirates. 5: 4960. Al Ain, U.A.E. What's new? – 2006. www-users.york.ac.uk/~mjb117/newslink-2006.htm Whybrow, P.J. (1987). Miocene geology and palaeontology of the United Arab Emirates and the State of Qatar (Arabian Gulf): the closure of Tethys and mammal `migrations' between Afroarabia and Eurasia. M.Phil Thesis. Reading University: Reading. 136 pp.

Whybrow, P. J. (1989). New stratotype; the Baynunah Formation (Late Miocene), United Arab Emirates: lithology and paleontology. Newsletter on Stratigraphy 21:1–9.

Whybrow, P. (1999). Local stratigraphy of the Neogene outcrops of the coastal area: Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – ISSN 0178-6288 – Number 98 – February 2010

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Western Region, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Chapter 4 in P.J. Whybrow and A. Hill (eds.), Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia. Yale University Press: New Haven, CT. pp.28-38.

Whybrow, P.J. (2000). Conservation of Fossil Sites; Western Region, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Report submitted to the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Exploration.

Whybrow, P.J. (ed.) (2000). Travels with the Fossil Hunters. Cambridge University Press in association with the Natural History Museum, London. ISBN: 0-521-66301-6. (especially Chapter 5 – “Brains in Abu Dhabi’s desert” by Peter J Whybrow).

Whybrow, Peter J. (1942-2004). www.adias-uae.com/whybrow.html [Tribute to the pioneer of Miocene fossil studies in Abu Dhabi].

Whybrow, P. and D. Clements. (1999). Arabian Tertiary Fauna, Flora and Localities. Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia. Chapter 33 in P.J. Whybrow and A. Hill (eds.), Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia. Yale University Press: New Haven, CT. pp.460-474.

Whybrow, P. and D. Clements (1999). Late Miocene Baynunah Formation, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Fauna, Flora, and Localities. Chapter 23 in P.J. Whybrow and A. Hill (eds.), Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia. Yale University Press: New Haven, CT. pp.317334.

Elephant tree. http://www.adias-uae.com/stegotetrabelodon.html

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The author, Prof. Dr. Norman Ali Khalaf-von Jaffa, posing infront of a 15,000 year-old Siberian Woolly Mammoth fossil, standing tall at four metres and weighing one tonne, which was discovered in the late 1990’s on the banks of the Irtysh River in Siberia, and is considered one of the largest and most complete fossils to have ever been discovered. The behaviour of these legendary creatures, which mainly resided in Asia, Europe and North Africa, resembled that of modern elephants. Despite their large size – a fully grown Mammoth can weigh between up to eight tonnes, equivalent to the weight of a double-decker bus – they are known to be gentle creatures that mostly enjoyed grazing on fresh grass. Their coats varied in colour between light and dark and were covered in fur, with an outer covering of long hairs and a shorter undercoat.

They had short ears and tails to minimize frostbite. Little is known about the species’ extinction, but it is thought to have likely been due to climate change, human hunting or a combination of the two. This Siberian Woolly Mammoth fossil is displayed at Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi, UAE. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10154799847514831&set=pcb.10154799849319831

Whybrow, P.J. and A. Hill (eds.) (1999). Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia: With Emphasis on the Late Miocene Faunas, Geology and Palaeoenvironments of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. xxv + 523 pp. Yale University Press: New Haven, CT. ISBN: 0-300-07183-3. $125. [This book is the full scientific publication of all the fossils Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – ISSN 0178-6288 – Number 98 – February 2010

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discovered during the 1990’s expeditions conducted by the Natural History Museum and Yale University. It includes detailed chapters on geology, palaeomagenetic dating, fossil mollusca, fishes, turtles, crocodiles, insectivores and rodents, monkeys, carnivores, elephants, horses, pigs, hippos and pecorans. It discusses the reconstruction of the environment of that time between 6-8 million years ago, and places it in the wider context of regional fossil fauna and flora from the Sultanate of Oman, Republic of Yemen, Africa and Asia].

Whybrow, P.J. and A. Hill. (1999). Introduction to Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia. Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia. Chapter 1 in P.J. Whybrow and A. Hill (eds.), Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia. Yale University Press: New Haven, CT. pp.3-6.

Whybrow, P.J., A. Hill and W.Y. Al Tikriti (1991). Miocene fossils from Abu Dhabi.

Tribulus (Journal of the Emirates Natural History Group). 1(1): 4-9.

Whybrow, P., A. Hill, W.Y. Al Tikriti and E.A. Hailwood (1990). Late Miocene primate fauna, flora and initial palaeomagnetic data from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Journal of Human Evolution. 19: 583-588.

Zhou, M. and Y. P. Zhang (1983). Occurrence of the proboscidean genus Stegotetrabelodon in China. Vertebrata Palasiatica 21:52–58. [Chinese with English abstract]. .‫ ﻣﻼﯾﯿﻦ ﺳﻨﺔ‬8 ‫ اﻛﺘﺸﺎف ﻣﺘﺤﺠﺮات ﻓﻲ أﺑﻮظﺒﻲ ﻋﻤﺮھﺎ‬: ‫ﻧﮭﺮ ﻛﺒﯿﺮ ﻛﺎن ﯾﻤﺪ اﻟﻜﺎﺋﻨﺎت ﺑﺄﺳﺒﺎب اﻟﺤﯿﺎة‬ www.alarabiya.net/articles/2010/01/24/98260.html

Stegotetrabelodon syrticus. By WillemSvdMerwe on DeviantArt. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/467459636302223572/?nic_v1=1akJC%2B4pUJbIvegQodfnYn SpMGScZacCrowD7dNzOwMCInw54RBOQEqhAYFWAAcI%2BS

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Stegotetrabelodon syrticus. http://posercontent.com/animals-for-poser-and-daz-studio/stegotetrabelodonsyrticus-dr

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Stegotetrabelodon syrticus. http://posercontent.com/animals-for-poser-and-daz-studio/stegotetrabelodonsyrticus-dr

The author, Prof. Dr. Norman Ali Bassam Khalaf, on the German Wikipedia. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Ali_Khalaf

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