Gomphothere, the now-extinct relative of elephants, used to have four tusks. The largest-known tusk belonging to the woolly mammoth stretched 4.2 metres and weighed 91 kg. The longest African elephant tusk measured around 3.5 metres and weighed close to 100 kg. Elongated incisors have been among the most distinctive features for millions of years for proboscideans, after a long proboscis or trunk, of course. But the modern-day jumbos are now shedding this spectacular trait, thanks to human greed.
In Mozambique, past hunting pressure has led to an increase of naturally tuskless elephants, according to a study conducted by Shane Campbell-Staton of
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