dwarf elephant

American  

[dwawrf el-uh-fuhnt] / ˈdwɔrf ˌɛl ə fənt /

noun

1. any of numerous prehistoric proboscideans that evolved into much smaller sizes than their immediate ancestors, which had colonized islands unable to sustain their larger forms: the dwarf elephant fossils found on Mediterranean, Indonesian, and Californian islands provide evidence for the phenomenon of insular dwarfism.

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Etymology

Origin of dwarf elephant

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

We have been much interested in the performances of the Infant Jumbo, the dwarf elephant, and no wonder.

From Project Gutenberg

Previous excavations in central Flores had already uncovered primitive stone tools, dating to about 800,000 years ago, mixed in with fossils of an extinct species of dwarf elephant known as Stegodon.

From Time Magazine Archive

The dwarf elephant, thirty-five inches high, was brought into the arena in an ordinary trunk.

From Project Gutenberg

I simply adore them, and I should have liked to have a dwarf elephant.

From Project Gutenberg

Camels, you note, run wild there; there is a sort of dwarf elephant, similar to the now extinct kind of which one finds skeletons in Malta, pigs, a red parrot, and other such creatures, of lead and wood.

From Project Gutenberg