Page 15 - Science@UM365Dec2020
P. 15

SPECIAL FEATURE

         To ensure the that morphological details of the fossil can be accurately captured and recorded
         prior to the excavation, dentists used special dental materials to prepare the tooth impression
         and cast of the fossil. The cave was mapped for taphonomy description, sediment samples for
         U series age determination were collected and currently being tested at National Taiwan
         University. Associated fauna was observed and to date, Pongo, Sus spp., modern elephant and a
         large-sized Bovid are found to be associated with the Stegodon. Detailed morphological studies
         on the fossil and high-precision imaging are ongoing.

      STEGODON, AN ANCIENT PROBOSCIDEAN
      GENUS, WAS PRESENT FROM 11.6 MILLION
              YEARS AGO (MYA) TO THE LATE
           PLEISTOCENE, WITH UNCONFIRMED
          RECORDS OF LOCALIZED SURVIVALS
                   UNTIL 4100 YEARS AGO


























                                                                    Research team

                                                                    Kinta Valley Watch – first discoverer of the
                                                                    Stegodon
                                                                    Team Leader
                                                                    Dr Ros Fatihah Muhammad , Department of
                                                                    Geology, Faculty of Science, UM
                                                                    Paleontologist & Zooarcheologist
                                                                    Lim Tze Tshen , Paleontological Society of
                                                                    Malaysia & Sarawak Museum
                                                                    Oral and Maxillofacial Radiologist
                                                                    Assoc Prof Dr Norliza Ibrahim , Faculty of
                                                                    Dentistry, UM
                                                                    Prosthodontics Specialist
                                                                    Dr Mohd Azmi Abdul Razak, Faculty of
                                                                    Dentistry, UM
                                                                    Karstic Guide
                                                                    Zarris Kem – Malaysian Cave and Karst
                                                                    Conservancy
                                                                    Geologist
                                                                    Fakhrulradzi Mohd Razif - Department of
    Permission to conduct research obtained from Perak Department of   Geology, Faculty of Science, UM
        Mineral and Geoscience and Perak State Park Corporation
                                                                                        Science@UM365   13
   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20