7.6" Rare Fossil Palaeoloxodon M2 Molar - Germany

This is a rare upper jaw M2 molar of Palaeoloxodon antiquus, a straight tusked elephant. Fossils of Palaeoloxodon are much rarer than those of the Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) It is from the Pleistocene, approximately 120k years old and was recovered from River Rhine, Germany.

Palaeoloxodon antiquus was quite large, individuals reaching 4 meters (13 ft) in height and resembled modern day elephants. They preferred warm conditions and flourished in the interglacial periods during the Ice Age, spreading from continental Europe to Great Britain during the warmer periods. It is assumed that they preferred wooded environments. During colder periods, the species migrated south. It became extinct in Britain by the beginning of the last glacial, about 115,000 years ago. Eventually it was replaced by the mammoth.