Selangor Journal
An illustration of a Stegodon elephant. — Picture by WIKIMEDIA

80,000-year-old fossil of Stegodon elephant found in Perak

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 — The Universiti Malaya (UM) paleontologists have discovered the first ‘Stegodon’ elephant fossil in Malaysia, believed to be between 30,000 and 80,000 years old in a limestone cave in Gopeng, Perak.

UM in a statement today said the fossil was found by a team of researchers led by UM’s Geology Department scientist Dr Ros Fatihah Muhammad together with vertebrate paleontologist and zooarchaeologist, Lim Tze Tshen from the Paleontological Society of Malaysia.

Dr Ros Fatihah said the discovery was also following the information received from the cave settlers group, Kinta Valley Watch, as well as her team’s survey and research.

She said the Stegodon elephant was one of the ‘Proboscidea’ genus from the long-extinct family of ‘Stegodontidae’, in contrast to the modern Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) which still exists in the country in terms of morphology, ecology and taxonomy.

“Studies so far show that the remains of this Stegodon are not associated with ancient humans. However, this study is still very important as it is related to the history of the migration of ancient fauna and also environmental changes in the Southeast Asian region,” she said.

Dr Ros Fatihah said the imaging process performed by Associate Professor Dr Norliza Ibrahim and Dr Mohd Azmi Abdul Razak from UM’s Faculty of Dentistry found that the fossil was most likely a Stegodon of less than two years old.

Thus, she said the site should be gazetted to be protected from encroachment, apart from being able to be used as a new geosite of the Kinta Valley Geopark.

Meanwhile, UM vice-chancellor Datuk Dr Abdul Rahim Hashim said the discovery of the fossil was a milestone in the field of quaternary paleontological studies in Malaysia.

“Well done and congratulations to Dr Ros Fatihah and her team who have successfully opened a new chapter in this field of study,” he said.

— Bernama

 

Top Picks

BNM: Malaysia’s official reserve assets at US$114.28 bln as of February 2024

SC issues revised guidelines on conduct for capital market intermediaries

MIDF Research: Malaysia can become major supplier of sustainable aviation fuel in Asia Pacific

Editor Selangor Journal