Birth of a Monster | 台北市立動物園資訊網
Synopsis:FossildwarfelephantskeletonsfromItalyandGreecewithskullstwice...Astheyhappilyfilledtheirbellies,themaneatingCyclopsPolyphemuscame ...
Above: Detail of the Forge of the Cyclopes by Hoorn Holland (1533–1578) from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Credit: Cornelis Cort (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.
Below: Skull of Palaeoloxodon falconeri, a now-extinct Pleistocene dwarf elephant from the Mediterranean region. Cyclopes myths were thought to have developed from observation of these skulls. Credit: Matteo De Stefano/MUSE (CC BY-SA 3.0 [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0]), via Wikimedia Commons
From a previous EarthDate, you may remember that some mythological creatures were born when ancient cultures discovered fossils and created stories to explain them.
Well, here’s a famous beast that started as a tiny elephant.
During the Pleistocene ice ages, polar ice and continental glaciers held more of Earth’s water, causing sea level to fall.
During low sea-level periods, elephants from Africa walked and swam across a nearly dry Mediterranean to Europe. Once seas ros...
Cyclops Myth Spurred by 'One | 台北市立動物園資訊網
Birth of a Monster | 台北市立動物園資訊網
TIL | 台北市立動物園資訊網
Cyclopes | 台北市立動物園資訊網
Dwarf elephant | 台北市立動物園資訊網
Cyclops and Dragon Tongues | 台北市立動物園資訊網
The cyclops in Greek mythology are actually ancient dwarf ... | 台北市立動物園資訊網
Elephant skull cyclops fossil myth | 台北市立動物園資訊網
The Dwarf Elephant Of Malta; Origin Of The Cyclops Myth ... | 台北市立動物園資訊網
【亞洲象】:象科;CITES Appendix I
頭臀400~600公分;尾巴100~150公分;耳65~85公分;肩高240~300公分;體重3500~5000公斤;齒數26成年象身上無毛,除了長睫毛及尾巴...