zdanskyi and S. elephantoides. The smallest dwarf species known is S. sumbaensis from Sumba, with an estimated body mass of 250 kg. The slightly larger S. sondaari, known from Early Pleistocene layers on the Indonesian island of Flores, had an estimated body weight of between 355 and 650 kg. Another estimate gives a shoulder height of and a weight of . Philippine pygmy stegodonts also have a small stature bigger than or around the size of S. sondaari and S. sompoensis of Celebes, with S. mindanensis having a projected weight of 400 kg. S. luzonensis and S. sompoensis have estimated masses of around 1,300 kg and 1,000 kg respectively. A medium- to large-sized stegodont, S. florensis, with a body weight of about 1,700 kg, appeared about 850,000 years ago, and then also evolved into a dwarf form, S. f. insularis, with an estimated body mass of about 570 kg. Another estimate gives a shoulder height of and a weight of . The latter was contemporaneous with, and hunted by, the dwarf hominin Homo floresiensis, and disappeared about 49,600 years ago, earlier than initially thought. Dwarf stegodonts were believed to be the main prey of the still-extant Komodo dragon before modern humans introduced their modern main prey in its range, banded pig, rusa deer, and water buffalo. Ecology Like modern elephants, but unlike more primitive proboscideans, Stegodon is thought to have chewed using a proal movement (a forward stroke from the back to the front) of the lower jaws. Based on dental microwear analysis, populations of Stegodon from the Pleistocene of China and Southeast Asia were found to be browsers, with clear niche differentiation from sympatric Elephas populations, which tended towards mixed feeding (both browsing and grazing). Taxonomy In the past, stegodonts were believed to be the ancestors of the true elephants and mammoths, but currently they are believed to have no modern descendants. Stegodon is likely derived from Stegolophodon, an extinct genus known from the Miocene of Asia. Stegodon is generally considered to be more closely related to elephants and mammoths than either gomphotheres or mastodons. Some taxonomists consider the stegodonts a subfamily of the Elephantidae. The most important difference between Stegodon and (other) Elephantidae can be observed in the molars. Stegodont molars consist of a series of low, roof-shaped ridges, whereas in elephants, each ridge has become a high-crowned plate. Furthermore, stegodont skeletons are more robust and compact than