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There are no bones in an elephant’s trunk. An elephant can lift 4.5 % of its weight with its trunk. Baby elephants can walk at birth but it takes them months before they can control their trunks.
In the human and the elephant, the column orientation of the foot complex is replaced in humans by a plantigrade orientation, and in elephants by a semi-plantigrade alignment of the hind limb foot structure. [6] This difference in orientation in the foot bones and joints of humans and elephants helps them to adapt to variations in the terrain. [17]
The trunk can also bend at different points by creating stiffened "pseudo-joints". The tip can be moved in a way similar to the human hand. [45] The skin is more elastic on the dorsal side of the elephant trunk than underneath; allowing the animal to stretch and coil while maintaining a strong grasp. [46]
When comparing an elephant's vocal folds to those of a human, an elephant's are longer, thicker, and have a larger cross-sectional area. In addition, they are tilted at 45 degrees and positioned more anteriorly than a human's vocal folds. [18] From various experiments, the elephant larynx is shown to produce various and complex vibratory phenomena.
Proboscidea (/ ˌ p r oʊ b ə ˈ s ɪ d i ə /; from Latin proboscis, from Ancient Greek προβοσκίς (proboskís) 'elephant's trunk') is a taxonomic order of afrotherian mammals containing one living family (Elephantidae) and several extinct families.
Deinotherium is an extinct genus of large, elephant-like proboscideans that lived from about the middle-Miocene until the early Pleistocene.Although its appearance is reminiscent of modern elephants, Deinotherium possessed a notably more flexible neck, with limbs adapted to a more cursorial lifestyle, as well as tusks which grew down and curved back from the mandible, as opposed to the forward ...
The limb bones of gomphotheres like those of mammutids are generally more robust than elephantids, with the legs also tending to be proportionally shorter. Their bodies also tend to be more proportionally elongate than those of living elephants, resulting in gomphotheres being heavier than an elephant at the same shoulder height.
The trunk is also used for greeting other elephants and communication of emotions such as excitement, competition, dominance, discipline, reassurance etc. [10] An elephant has a large brain which weighs between 4–6 kg (8.8–13.2 lb). It is a highly intelligent animal with a great capacity to learn new things.