Steven Zhang – The Conversation

A fully-grown male Palaeoloxodon turkmenicus wandering the Kashmir Valley, 400,000 years ago, towering over a herd of Central Asian red deer. (Illustration by Chen Yu, reproduced with permission)

December 18, 2024

How a giant prehistoric elephant skull helped untangle an evolutionary mystery

Steven Zhang, University of Helsinki and Advait M. Jukar, University of Florida

Eurasia and Africa were once populated by 13-tonne, 4 metre tall elephants, but their evolution has long remained a puzzle. A giant fossil skull from Kashmir paves way to unlocking their mysteries.

Proboscideans and their tooth structures in various forms across 60 million years of evolution. Illustration by Óscar Sanisidro. Author provided (no reuse)

October 15, 2023

Elephant teeth: how they evolved to cope with climate change‑driven dietary shifts

Steven Zhang, University of Helsinki

Groundbreaking study demonstrates how behaviour drives long-term evolution over 20 million years.

Contact Steven for