Insular dwarfism
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Insular dwarfism, a form of phyletic dwarfism, is the process and condition of large animals evolving or having a reduced body size when their population's range is limited to a small environment, pri
Skeletons of the extinct Palaeoloxodon falconeri, native to Sicily and Malta, it is one of the smallest known species of dwarf elephant. Adult males measured about one meter (3.3 ft) in shoulder height and weighed about 250 kg (550 lb). Females were smaller.
Europasaurus skull
Rapetosaurus BW
Lirainosaurus
Island gigantism
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Island gigantism, or insular gigantism, is a biological phenomenon in which the size of an animal species isolated on an island increases dramatically in comparison to its mainland relatives. Island g
Insular dwarfism
…more general "island effect" or "Foster's rule", which posits that when mainland animals colonize islands, small species tend to evolve larger bodies (island gigantism), and large species tend to evolve smaller bodies. This is itself one aspect of island syndrome, which describes the differences in morphology, ecology…
Size comparison of the giant gymnure/moonrat (a type of insectivore closely related to hedgehogs) Deinogalerix from the Late Miocene of Gargano, Italy, next to the related European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)
Leithia melitensis
Hoplomys gymnurus 2
Hattomys gargantua Naturalis