The University of Michigan's Museum of Paleontology's (UMMP) Dr. William (Bill) Sanders has written a comprehensive publication, “Evolution and Fossil Record of African Proboscidea,” that covers the entirety of the fossil record of elephants and their ancestors in Africa and Arabia, spanning 60 million years of time. Proboscideans are one of the longest-known placental mammal groups and the most deeply embedded eutherian mammal group in all of Africa. They have been continuously present on the continent for all of the 60 million years. Moreover, nearly all significant evolutionary events in proboscidean evolution occurred in Africa: their origins, origins of deinotheres, the initial appearance of elephantimorphs (mastodons, gomphotheres, stegodonts, and elephants), and the origins of elephants, including the ancestors of mammoths and modern African and Asian elephants.
While other researchers previously attempted to survey the entire proboscidean fossil record, the record wasn't as complete when they attempted to do so, or accounts were made in partial attempts, such as in different volumes. This publication provides a comprehensive view of proboscidean evolution and their fossil record, answering questions about ancestry and descent, migration, temporal extent of taxa, their habitats, and why some were successful while others failed over time.
The database used in the publication represents about 40 years of Bill Sanders’ research. The book took eight years to write and is the most comprehensive volume of its kind. Bill's interest in elephants stems from the fact that they are threatened by human agency, such as poaching, land use, and climate change. He wrote this publication to increase understanding of how long it took elephants to evolve and the tortuous path that evolution took to get there. He hopes by showing people the magnificence and complexity of the journey, there might be a stronger feeling of value and worth in protecting these animals.
In addition to Dr. Sanders' impressive research and publication, Carol Abraczinskas, UMMP’s Biological Illustrator, contributed significantly to the book's production. Specifically, Carol's vital work focused on many of the book's figures, including the maps and charts that are crucial to understanding the evolutionary history of proboscideans.
The cover of the publication was drawn by Karen Laurence-Rowe, a renowned conservation artist, whose daughter helps to manage an elephant conservation site in Kenya. The cover depicts a real herd of elephants (adult females and their young) in Tsavo, Kenya.
This book is a substantial reference volume, full of data and illustrations. It is the capstone of Bill's life's work, providing a comprehensive and detailed view of proboscidean evolution and the fossil record. It is also an eye-opening reminder of the importance of protecting elephants and their habitats for the sake of our ecosystem's health and survival.
This publication was released at the end of summer 2023 by CRC Press (Taylor & Francis) and is available for purchase on the Taylor & Francis website.
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