Scientists have discovered the "almost mythical" ancestor of elephants with four tusks Express

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The farmer found in his own country almost intact A skull with four tusks decided not to give it to the museum, the Frenchman feared that hunters Antiques are hunted on his farm, writes HB with reference to Science Alert.

After 4 years, he decided to no longer artifact and reported the discovery of the Museum of Natural History, located in the city of Toulouse.

"Only when we traveled that and, in 2017, we realized the significance of the discovery," – reported in the management of the museum.

The bones belonged to the parent of the elephant – Gomphotherium pyrenaicum – who wandered around these lands 11-13 million years ago. the eyeballs that came out of the lower jaw, in addition to the more typical upper pair, which now has elephants. These lower canines were relatively flat and could have been used to dig roots.

This kind of genus Gomphotherium is not very well presented in museums, there are only a few teeth that were found 150 years ago in the same area. This is the first complete skull of an animal of this species, making it a valuable discovery.

"We found an almost mythical form," says Pierre Dalus, curator of the museum. of its shell of hardened sediments, which means that they have months of work in front of them.

Up to now, searches in the vicinity have not succeeded: other parts of the skeleton have not yet been found. In addition, it is not reported there were hordes of amateur hunters in the antiques in the area.