Stegodon

Stegodon is a genus of extinct elephants that lived during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs. Its name is derived from the Greek words stegein ('to cover') and odοn ('tooth') because of the distinctive ridges on the animal's molars. Stegodon is believed to descend from Gomphotherium, and to be an ancestor of the mammoth, as well as modern Indian Elephants.

In a remote valley in Nepal, there is a population of Indian Elephants, which due to inbreeding retain many Stegodon features and are consequently very similar to the Stegodon[1].

There are six known species of Stegodon:

• Stegodon airawana
• Stegodon aurorae
• Stegodon ganesha
• Stegodon orientalis
• Stegodon shinshuensis
• Stegodon trigonocephalus