of Turkmenistan, with possibly attributable remains known from Kashmir, validity uncertain. Mediterranean island dwarfs These Mediterranean insular dwarf elephant species are almost certainly descended from P. antiquus P. chaniensis (Crete) P. creutzburgi (Crete) P. xylophagou (Cyprus) P. cypriotes (Cyprus) P. lomolinoi (Naxos) P. tiliensis (Tilos) P. melitensis (Malta) P. mnaidriensis (Sicily and Malta) P. falconeri/E. falconeri (Sicily and Malta) Description Most species of Palaeoloxodon (aside from P. turkmenicus) are noted for their distinctive parieto-occipital crests present at the top of the cranium, which was used to anchor the splenius as well as possibly the rhomboid muscles to support the skull, which is proportionally large in comparison to other elephants. The development of the crest is variable depending the species, growth stage and gender, with females and juvenliles having less developed or absent crests. The tusks have relatively little curvature, and are proportionally large. Evolution Palaeoloxodon first appears in the fossil record in Africa during the early Pliocene, around 4 Mya as the species Palaeoloxodon recki. P. recki was the dominant elephant in Africa for the Pliocene and most of the Pleistocene. A population of P. recki migrated out of Africa between 0.8 and 0.6 Mya, diversifying into the radiation of Eurasian Palaeoloxodon species, including P. antiquus, P. namadicus, and P. naumanni, the precise relationships of the Eurasian taxa to each other are obscure in the absence of molecular evidence. P. recki became extinct in Africa around 0.5 Mya, being replaced by the modern genus Loxodonta. A species descended from P. recki, "Elephas" jolensis persisted in Africa until the late Middle Pleistocene, around 130,000 years ago. The arrival of P. antiquus in Europe co-incides with the extinction of Mammuthus meridionalis and its replacement by Mammuthus trogontherii, suggesting that it might have shared a similar dietary niche and outcompeted the former. P. antiquus was able to disperse onto many islands in the Mediterranean, undergoing insular dwarfism and speciating into numerous distinct varieties of dwarf elephants. Palaeoloxodon fossils are abundant in China and are assigned to three species, P. namadicus, P. naumanni and P. huaihoensis. However, the relationships of Chinese Palaeoloxodon are currently unresolved and it is unclear how many species were present in the region. Extinction Most Eurasian species of Palaeoloxodon became extinct towards the end of the last glacial period. The youngest record of P. antiquus are footprints from the southern Iberian Peninsula, dating to approximately 28,000 years ago. The youngest