Eritreum

Eritreum melakeghebrekristosi is an extinct species of proboscidean mammal, which lived in Northeast Africa during the late Oligocene some 27 million years ago, and is considered to be the missing link between modern elephants and their ancestors. The fossils of this species are the oldest known fossils featuring the horizontal tooth displacement seen in modern elephants. The species is estimated to have weighed 484 kg (1,067 lb) and stood about 1.3 m (4.3 ft) at the shoulder, much smaller than modern species. The name Eritreum comes from the name Eritrea a country in the Horn of Africa where the specimen was discovered, and melakeghebrekristosi in honor of the farmer, Melake Ghebrekristos, who found the specimen.