Brief introduction of yellow river elephant

During the period of 1973, several farmers in Gansu province, west of China, suddenly found a piece of white ivory while digging sand. They immediately reported to the local government, and later, under the command of the local government, all the fossils were finally exposed: this is the skeleton of an elephant, which was obliquely inserted in the sand and stepped on the stone.

This fossil was named "Yellow River Elephant". It is 4 meters high and 8 meters long, and its ivory is more than 2 meters long, like two long swords, so it is also called saber-toothed elephant. Saber-toothed elephant was widely distributed millions of years ago, and its fossils were also found abroad.

It is speculated that 3 million years ago, Gansu did not do this now, and there were rivers and lakes everywhere. One day, while drinking water by the river, a saber-toothed elephant slipped into the mire and was gradually buried by sand. With the passage of time, the sediment became thicker and thicker, so its bones were completely preserved. After complicated geological evolution, this area was elevated to the plateau, and the Yellow River elephant was able to see the light of day again.

The Yellow River Elephant Fossils are precious materials for people to understand the paleogeography and paleoclimate of Gansu, and are one of the important achievements of paleontological excavation in China. It is very famous in China, and there are special words in the Chinese textbooks of primary schools in China to tell the story of the Yellow River Elephant. The Yellow River elephant fossils are currently displayed in the elephant pool in the Mammal Exhibition Hall of China Paleontology Museum-vertebrate paleontology Museum.