FOR AGES 3 YEARS TO 18 YEARS
At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
An enormous creature from the past, the Stegodon was a large mammal that existed over 11 million years ago. Going extinct over 4000 years ago, the Stegodon was a large, elephant like creature with extremely large tusks that grew to lengths of 10 ft (3 m). Stegodonts were present in large parts of east and central Asia and Africa, including Indonesia, Timor, Japan, and China. In fact, the youngest fossil found has been dated back 4100 years to the Pleistocene period. The Stegodon belongs to the genus Stegodon, family Stegodontidae and order Proboscidea. Other Proboscideans include the great Mammoths of the past, the Mastodons, and the Asian and African elephants of today. Scientists made use of the fossils found in the Miocene and Pleistocene periods to discover the various habits of the Stegodont, including its diet, its physical features, its social habits, and so on. It was discovered that these animals started out as extremely large creatures and slowly evolved into dwarf elephants. The dwarf Stegodon species evolved from the larger species including the Stegodon ganesa, the Stegodon zdanskyi, and the Stegodon elaphantoides. The dwarf species includes the Stegodon sondaari (found in the Island of Flores), the Stegodon aurorae (found in Japan and China), and the Stegodon sumbaensis (found in Sumba).
Read further to learn some fun facts about Stegodon, and do check out our Wooly mammoth facts and Asian elephant facts pages!
The Stegodon is a prehistoric animal that resembles the modern day elephant. They belong to the genus Stegodon.
The Stegodon is a mammal belonging to the family Stegodontidae and genus Stegodon.
The Stegodon is extinct. This means that there are no more Stegodons alive in the world today.
The Stegodon used to be found in different parts of Indonesia, Eastern, and Central Africa.
It is believed that Stegodons (genus Stegodon) used to be found in forests, open grasslands, and Asian islands.
Although there is no exact information about the social habits of the Stegodon, it is speculated that they lived in herds, just as modern day elephants do. Elephants are the only members of the same family as the Stegodon today.
The exact lifespan of the Stegodon is unknown. However, based on the lifespan of other Proboscideans (like elephants), it can be assumed that the lifespan of the Stegodon is in the range of 50-70 years.
The Stegodon reproduces viviparously like other Proboscideans, which means that they give birth to live young. They undergo sexual reproduction, followed by a pregnancy period where the baby develops inside the mother's body. The exact gestation period of the Stegodon is not known, but it can be speculated that it ranges between 18-25 months.
The Stegodon has been classified as an extinct animal by the IUCN. Other extinct animals include the dodo bird, Pyrenean ibex, and white rhino.
Stegodons belong to the order Proboscidea, just like modern day elephants. Hence, they are very similar in appearance to the Asian elephant, with large gray bodies, long trunks, tusks, and big ears. However, they were much larger and had much larger tusks. In fact, it is believed that the Stegodon could grow a tusk over 10 ft (3.04 m) long. Due to this length, the Stegodon often carried its trunk to the side. Stegodons could often grow to weigh 25400 lb (11521.25 kgs) and 13 ft (3.96 m) long.
The Stegodont was a very large animal with very long tusks. Hence, they were not considered to be cute. In addition to this, these animals have been extinct for 11,000 years and have never been seen alive by modern day humans. Hence, it is impossible to classify them as cute or not.
The exact method of communication between Stegodonts is unknown. However, from the behaviors of other members of the same family, it can be speculated that Stegodonts used a combination of cries, roars, moans, and other noises to communicate with one another. They may have also used seismic communication like elephants to sense any vibrations and sound waves in the ground.
The Stegodon was a very large animal, with a large grey body and long tusks. It is believed that the Stegodon could grow to weigh a whopping 25400 lb (11521.25 kgs), a length of 13 ft (3.96 m), a height of 12.7 ft (3.87 m), and tusks that could grow to be over 10 ft (3.04 m) long. This makes them 100 times taller than a Sumatran elephant.
The speed of a Stegodon cannot be estimated. However, they were considered to be very good and quick swimmers.
The Stegodon could weigh up to 25400 lb (11521.25 kgs) over 11 million years ago. However, throughout the years, Stegodons underwent a phenomenon known as Island Dwarfism, which is the phenomenon of larger animals evolving into smaller animals. For example, the smallest Stegodon species discovered was the Stegodon sumbaensis of Sumba, which was found to weigh only 551.1 lb (250 kg). Other species include the Stegodon aurorae and the Stegodon flores.
There are no specific names for the males and females of this species. They are simply referred to as male or female Stegodon.
There are no specific names for a baby Stegodon. They are simply referred to as juveniles or calves.
The Stegodon was a herbivore used to eat leaves, foliage, shoots, and stems.
No, The Stegodon was not poisonous. They were a large species belonging to the same family and order as modern day elephants ( like Asian elephants found in large parts of east and central Asia).
The Stegodon is currently extinct. They were also large, wild animals that required large spaces like big islands and open fields. Hence, these animals would have not made good pets.
The Stegodon is a prehistoric animal that existed over 11 million years ago. It is believed that they existed from the Mya period (11.6 million years ago) to the Pleistocene period (4000 years ago).
Various Stegodon fossils were found in and around Africa, Asia, and the Indonesian islands. These fossils were found to be from the Miocene period or epoch (23 million years ago to 5.3 million years ago). The latest fossil that was discovered was in China and was discovered to be around 4100 years old.
Stegodonts are considered to be very good swimmers as a large number of fossils were discovered in various Asian islands with no land bridges. This means that the fossils of the stegodon were found in these islands because they would have swum across the waters to reach land.
Stegodonts were present from the Mya period to the Pleistocene period (11.6 million years ago to 4000 years ago) in large parts of Asia and Africa. It is believed that they went extinct in the Late Pleistocene period. Scientists conducted various studies on the teeth of the Stegodon to study its diet habits. Studying the teeth of these animals led scientists to the conclusion that they used to eat C3 plants in forest areas. This means that the Stegodon used to eat in dense forests only. This suggested that they were not able to adapt to the changing environmental conditions over the years, which led to their extinction.
Stegodons and Elephants belong to the order Proboscidea, which means animals that had trunks. This included Mastodons, Mammoths, Stegodons, and modern day elephants. In fact, the Asian elephant and the Stegodon used to live in the same period in east and central Asian and African countries and Islands. However, the Asian elephant had a more adaptable diet, which allowed it to survive while the Stegodon went extinct. Currently, there are only three species of the Proboscidea family still alive today. This includes the Asian elephant, The African bush elephant, and the African forest elephant.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these baiji facts and Tasmanian tiger facts pages.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable mammoth coloring pages.
Read The Disclaimer
At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
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