After Spinar/Burian: Leven in de oertijd (1974)

Flores man

This is one of the many fine paintings made by Z. Burian on subjects from the past. Depicted is a dwarf elephant. Remains of dwarf elephants have been found on the islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Elephants are good swimmers and long ago some of them will have crossed the sea to the islands. Elephants have become so enormous under the pressure of predators, such as lions: in most cases these caught the smallest individuals. As a consequence the average elephant has increased in size and weight until a certain equilibrium was reached and the elephants could deal with their predators. When such colossi land on an island without predators, they will propagate very fast and soon there will be lack of food. In this case the smallest animals will have the advantage because they need less food than their big brothers. Reducing of size and even dwarf growth will be the consequence. In this way also dwarf mammoths and dwarf hippos are known. Island species are often fine examples of allopatric speciation because populations on islands are isolated from their relatives. Know more? Dwarf elephant

Some years ago a sensational find was done on the isle of Flores in Indonesia. The 18.000 years old remains of a dwarf human (pygmy) with a size of 1 meter was discovered. It has been named Homo floresiensis  and it is thought to be a descendant of the long extinct Homo erectus. This is very probably an example of dwarf growth on an island. Island faunas show a number of peculiarities. Many islands have species which occur nowhere else: these have evolved on site. They are called endemic species. These species, however, are very vulnerable to extinction. The great book 'The song of the Dodo' by David Quammen is completely devoted to this subject. Know more? The Hobbit or Homo floresiensis

Evolution 19

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