Elephants of the genus Palaeoloxodon, such as P. recki, P. namadicus and P. antiquus, were among the largest land mammals that ever lived. The European straight-tusked elephant, Palaeoloxodon antiquus, could stand around 4.2 metres at the shoulder and weigh up to 15 tonnes, and some estimates suggest that the species P. namadicus may have been even larger. By comparison, the largest bulls of modern-day African elephants (Loxodonta africana) stand about 3.4 metres at the shoulder and can weigh up to about 7 tonnes.

Intriguingly, dwarf species of elephant evolved on islands in the Mediterranean. Their distinctive skulls, found in caves, may have inspired the legend of the Cyclops: the large opening at the front of the skull, where the trunk was attached, could easily have been mistaken for the socket of a single eye. The species Palaeoloxodon falconeri, from Sicily and Malta, was tiny – adult males stood about 1 metre at the shoulder and weighed around 250 kilograms.

The straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus lived in Europe, Anatolia and the Middle East. Being a warmth-loving species, it spread northwards during interglacials and retreated to southern Europe during glacials. The last populations survived on the Iberian Peninsula until around 28,000 years ago. Neanderthals and other early humans (genus Homo) hunted straight-tusked elephants and butchered their carcasses for meat.