A preliminary review of bone and teeth abnormalities seen in recent Loxodonta and extinct Mammuthus and Mammut, and suggested implications

During over 30 years of actualistic fieldwork in Zimbabwe's wildlife reserves, a range of pathological or anomalous bone, tusk, and tooth specimens have been observed in a sample of over a thousand skeletons of African elephant (Loxodonta africana). This paper describes some specimens to compare them with similar prehistoric examples seen in mammoth and mastodon assemblages, and suggests possibly similar causes and ecological implications.