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Reading: Prehistoric GIANT ELEPHANTS named after boys, 10 and 9, who found fossils in pit
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Two young brothers discovered the skeletons of prehistoric giant elephants in Munich. Named 'Big Alex' and 'Little Consti,' these fossils belong to the extinct Deinotherium giganteum.
Pets and Animals

Prehistoric GIANT ELEPHANTS named after boys, 10 and 9, who found fossils in pit

Lee Bullen
Last updated: 2024/07/19 at 11:09 AM
Lee Bullen
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3 Min Read
Constantin and Alexander at the dig site. (Picture: Jam Press)
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Two prehistoric giant elephants have been named after the two young lads who discovered them in a pit.

Peter Kapustin and his sons Alexander, 10, and nine-year-old Constantin often go fossil hunting at a local gravel pit.

They noticed a bone sticking out of the ground close to an animal burrow – which scientists discovered was part of the entire skeleton of two prehistoric elephants.

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And now, the children have the pleasure of being the animals’ namesakes.

The elephants, which are being displayed at a museum, have been named ‘Big Alex’ and ‘Little Consti’ after the brothers who discovered them.

Two young brothers discovered the skeletons of prehistoric giant elephants in Munich. Named 'Big Alex' and 'Little Consti,' these fossils belong to the extinct Deinotherium giganteum.
Peter Kapustin at the dig site. (Picture: Jam Press)

The skull of a prehistoric elephant was first found at the gravel pit in Erding, near Munich, back in 2004, causing budding palaeontologists to flock to the site.

Two young brothers discovered the skeletons of prehistoric giant elephants in Munich. Named 'Big Alex' and 'Little Consti,' these fossils belong to the extinct Deinotherium giganteum.
Prehistoric giant elephant bones found at the dig site. (Picture: Jam Press)

But in more recent years, the pit yielded few results – until the brothers stumbled upon their treasure in April last year.

Alexander said: “Unfortunately, when we uncovered it, a big rock fell on it and dad was afraid the bone was broken but luckily it wasn’t.”

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Two young brothers discovered the skeletons of prehistoric giant elephants in Munich. Named 'Big Alex' and 'Little Consti,' these fossils belong to the extinct Deinotherium giganteum.
Alexander Benn at the dig site. (Picture: Jam Press)

Peter, the curator at the Prehistoric Museum in Taufkirchen, Germany, immediately recognised the bone that the kids found as a rib.

The fossils were confirmed to belong to the extinct species Deinotherium giganteum, a giant elephant that roamed the planet about 10 million years ago.

Two young brothers discovered the skeletons of prehistoric giant elephants in Munich. Named 'Big Alex' and 'Little Consti,' these fossils belong to the extinct Deinotherium giganteum.
Big Alex diagram. (Picture: Jam Press)

In the past year since the boy’s discovery, scientists have uncovered another 120 bones at the at the pit.

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Big Alex, the larger elephant, was over 13 feet tall at shoulder height, but wasn’t even fully grown when it passed away.

The elephant’s skeleton included the skull unearthed in the pit 20 years ago.

Two young brothers discovered the skeletons of prehistoric giant elephants in Munich. Named 'Big Alex' and 'Little Consti,' these fossils belong to the extinct Deinotherium giganteum.
Artifacts at the museum. (Picture: Jam Press)

Little Consti was younger at the time of its death – but was already 10 feet tall at the shoulder.

Two young brothers discovered the skeletons of prehistoric giant elephants in Munich. Named 'Big Alex' and 'Little Consti,' these fossils belong to the extinct Deinotherium giganteum.
Constantin at the dig site. (Picture: Jam Press)

Overall, the smaller elephant’s skeleton was better preserved.

Peter told What’s the Jam: “Their tusks came out of their lower jaw, which is quite different from what we know about elephants living today.”

Two young brothers discovered the skeletons of prehistoric giant elephants in Munich. Named 'Big Alex' and 'Little Consti,' these fossils belong to the extinct Deinotherium giganteum.
Alexander Benn at the museum. (Picture: Jam Press)

Based on partial skeletons found in Europe, Asia and Africa, Deinotherium giganteum elephants went extinct about a million years ago.

They could reach heights of up to 16 feet at their shoulders when fully grown.

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