They
had previously been identified as Elephas maximus, the Asian elephant that
still inhabits southern China.
The
findings suggest that Palaeoloxodon survived a further 7,000 years
than was thought.
The
team from China examined fossilised elephant teeth and ancient elephant-shaped
bronzes for the study.
The
research, published in Quaternary
International was carried out by a group of scientists from Shaanxi
Normal University and Northwest University in Xi'an and The Institute of
Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Beijing.
No
wild elephants live in North China today, but historical documents indicate
that they roamed freely 3,000 years ago.
For
decades experts believed that the ancient elephants were E. maximus -
a species adapted to a tropical climate and that is still found in China's
southerly Yunnan province.
"They
thought North China was controlled by tropical climate at that time,"
explained Ji Li, from Shaanxi Normal University, who collaborated on the study
with colleagues professor Yongjian Hou, professor Yongxiang Li and Jie Zhang.
Continued: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/20678793
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