View source for Elephants in the Book of Mormon

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{{:Question: In what context are elephants mentioned in the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Source:Wikipedia:Mammoth:Mammoths are members of the family Elephantidae}}
{{:Source:Johnson:Men and Elephants in America:1952:Probably it is safe to say that American Proboscidea have been extinct for a minimum of 3000 years}}
{{:Source:Miller and Roper:Animals in the Book of Mormon:Interpreter:Elephants:Survival until the time of the Jaredites}}
{{:Source:Miller and Roper:Animals in the Book of Mormon:Interpreter:Elephants:Traditions of giant beasts with long noses}}
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[[Image:TetrabelodonAngustidens.jpg|right|thumb|200px|This is a public domain image of ''Tetrabelodon angustidens'', a member of the family [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomphotheriidae Gomphotheriidae].  We do not yet have a public-domain image of the South American species believed to have persisted into historical times.  This should not be considered an image of a Jaredite "elephant," but simply an illustration that these recently-extinct animals certainly qualify as "elephants" in appearance. (''Image source:''CW Andrews, ''A guide to the elephants (recent and fossil) exhibited in the Department of geology and palæontology in the British museum'' (London, Printed by order of the Trustees, 1908). 46 pp. Original graphic file from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:TetrabelodonAngustidens.jpg here].]]

A lesser-known type of elephant-like creature also existed from 12 million years ago.  These were the ''Gomphotheres'':

Wikipedia notes that "the last two South American species, in the genus Cuvieronius, did not finally become extinct until possibly as recently as 9,100 BP, and Stegomastodon remains have been dated as recently as 6,060 BP in the Valle del Magdalena, Colombia." <ref>Rodríguez-Flórez, Carlos David; Ernesto León Rodríguez-Flórez y Carlos Armando Rodríguez (2009). "Revision of Pleistocenic Gomphotheriidae Fauna in Colombia and case report in the Department of Valle Del Cauca". Scientific Bulletin (Museum Center - Natural History Museum) 13 (2): 78–85. Retrieved 2010-11-09.</ref> The term "BP" means "Before Present" and is defined to be the year 1950. Therefore 6060 BP would be approximately 4110 BC. Any elephants mentioned in the Book of Mormon need not have survived past about 2400 B.C. This leaves a gap of approximately 1700 years.

Wikipedia also notes:
<blockquote>
Gomphothere remains are common at South American Paleo-indian sites.[2] One example is the early human settlement at Monte Verde, Chile, dating to approximately 14,000 years ago.

Gomphotheres differed from elephants in their tooth structure, particularly the chewing surfaces on the molar teeth. Most had four tusks, and their retracted facial and nasal bones prompt paleontologists to believe that gomphotheres had elephant-like trunks.<ref>"Gomphothere'' ''wikipedia.org'' (accessed 9 December 2008).  The article is citing [1]Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. pp.239–242. ISBN 1-84028-152-9 [2] Prado, J. L.; Alberdi, M. T.; Azanza, B.; Sánchez, B.; Frassinetti, D. (2001), "The Pleistocene Gomphotheres (Proboscidea) from South America: diversity, habitats and feeding ecology", in Cavarretta, G.; Gioia, P.; Mussi, M. et al., ''The World of Elephants - Proceedings of the 1st International Congress, Rome October 16-20 2001'' (Rome: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche), 337–340, ISBN 88-8080-025-6, {{pdflink|url=http://www.cq.rm.cnr.it/elephants2001/pdf/337_340.pdf}}, retrieved on 25 July 2008.  {{link|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomphothere}} See also Jeff Lindsay, "Elephants&mdash;or Gomphotheres?" ''Mormanity'' (4 December 2008). {{link|url=http://mormanity.blogspot.com/2008/12/elephants-or-gomphotheres.html}}</ref>
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Recently, archaeologists from the University of Arizona discovered Gomphotheres bones which showed evidence of having been hunted by humans in North America 13,400 years ago. Prior to this it was believed that they had died out prior to the arrival of humans in North America.
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Gomphotheres were smaller than mammoths&mdash;about the same size as modern elephants. They once were widespread in North America, but until now they seemed to have disappeared from the continent's fossil record long before humans arrived in North America, which happened some 13,000 to 13,500 years ago, during the late Ice Age.

However, the bones that Holliday and his colleagues uncovered date back 13,400 years, making them the last known gomphotheres in North America. <ref>[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140714152431.htm "Bones of elephant ancestor unearthed: Meet the gomphothere,"] ''Science Daily'' (July 14, 2014)</ref>
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''The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals'' states that they "probably died out as recently as AD 400".
<blockquote>
We do not usually associate the South American Continent with elephants. However, remains of Cuvieronius have been found in mountainous areas of Norrh and South Arnerica, a fact reflected in its synonym Cordillerion - 'the one from the mountain range'. Cuvieronius evolved in western North America at the end of the Miocene, and migrated to South America during Pleistocene times, around 2 Million years ago. It spread from the grassy pampas in the east to the heights of the Andes in the west:, reaching as far south as Argentina. It was hunted to extinction, and probably died out as recently as AD 400.” <ref>Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 241</ref>
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In short, the elephant presents no problem for the Book of Mormon. -->

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[[de:Das Buch Mormon/Tiere/Elefant]]
[[es:El Libro de Mormón/Animales/Elefantes]]
[[pt:O Livro de Mórmon/Anacronismos/Animais/Elefantes]]