Scientists in Indonesia are putting together the largest, most complete skeleton of a prehistoric giant elephant ever found in the tropics.   Fossils are rare at the equator because decomposition occurs extremely quickly in the hot, moist climate.

It is thought the prehistoric elephant was submerged in quicksand shortly after dying on a riverbed in Java approximately 200,000 years ago.  The elephant was 13 feet tall, 16 feet long, and weighted more than 10 tons, close to the size of a woolly mammoth which was living during same time period.  It is hoped that this find will offer new insights into the origins of the modern Asian elephant.