| Issue Date | 07.07.2015 |
| ID | Michel: Stanley Gibbons: UPU: Category: pR |
| Design |
Illusrations: Mr. Rajman Maharjan, artist of Natural History Museum, Nepal Stamps Design: Mr. Purna Kala Limbu Consultant: Dr. Ramesh Shrestha, Chief of Natural History Museum, Nepal |
| Stamps in set | 6 |
| Value |
Rs. 10.00 - Deinotherium indicum Rs. 10.00 - Gomphotherium Rs. 10.00 - Stegodon bombifrons Rs. 10.00 - Stegodon ganesa Rs. 10.00 - Elephas hysudricus Rs. 10.00 - Elephas namadicus |
| Size (width x height) | 42.5mm x 31.5 mm |
| Layout | 30 stamps per sheet |
| Products | FDC x 1 |
| Paper | Security Stamp paper UV dull with visible & invisible fibers & phosphorescent dots. |
| Perforation | 13 (?) |
| Print Technique | Offset Lithography |
| Printed by | |
| Quantity | 500.000 each |
| Issuing Authority | His Majesty's Government of Nepal Postal Services Department |
On July 7, Post Authority of Nepal in cooperation with Natural History Museum of Nepal issued the second stamp set of prehistoric animals. Distinguished from the set from 2013 this set is dedicated to one group of animals only: prehistoric elephants. Stamps presentation took place on the same day in the museum. Special Guest Prof. Dr. Ishwar Chandra Dutta, Chairman of Tribhuvan University Service Commission. Chairperson Chirika Shova Tamrakar, Dean, Institute of Science & Technology, Tribhuvan University, Drona Pokhrel, Director General of Postal Service Department, Secretary of Ministry of Information and Communication Sunil Bahadur Malla. Prof. Dr. Ramesh Shrestha, Chief, Naturl History Museum, Swayambhu.
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| Prof. Dr. Ramesh Shrestha, Chief, Natural History MuseumMr. Shankar Shrestha, who also consulted stamp designer, has a speech. | First Day Cancellation by Chief Guest Honorable Minister Dr. Minendra Rijal. |
Nepal, as part of the Indian sub–continent, remained an important place for the evolution of elephants since Miocene some 24 million years before present (MYBP). Many Palaeontologists have discovered various body parts of these Proboscideans since a long time from different part of the country. Up to now in Nepal fossils of seven Proboscideans have been found. The Proboscidea order encompasses the mammals with long muscular trunks. At the present time, there are only two Proboscidean species alive. One of them is the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) found in mixed habitat zones in Sri Lanka, India, Nepal and parts of Southeast Asia. The other one is the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) found in Sub–Saharan forests and grasslands.
The present Prehistoric elephants of Nepal stamps series contain six elephants, which are as followings:
 Deinotherium indicum
(Family: Deinotheriidae): Deinotherium also known as a ‘terrible beast’ was a
large prehistoric relative of modern–day elephants that appeared in
Late/Middle Miocene and survived until Early Pleistocene. Deinotherium
evolved from the smaller early Miocene Prodeinotherium. Its trunk was
shorter and it had downward curving tusks attached to the lower jaw.
Three species of Deinotherium giganteum in Europe, Deinotherium
bozasi
in Africa and Deinotherium indicum in India, Nepal and Pakistan are
known. The molar tooth of Deinotherium was discovered at Babai River by
Dr. Robert West & his team 1978, in west Nepal. This molar
tooth is
in the collection of Natural History Museum. |
 Gomphotherium
(Family: Gomphotheriidae): is called welded beast, which evolved in the
late Oligocene/early Miocene of North America from 13.650 to 3.6 MYBP
living about 10 million years. The genus immigrated into Eurasia and
Africa after a drop in sea level (probably during the
Tortonian
epoch) allowed them to cross over. It survived into the
Pliocene
and its remains have been found in many countries including Nepal.
These animals probably lived in swamps or near lakes using their tusks
to dig or scrape up aquatic vegetation. Several fossils of
Gomphotherium are reported from Babai River by Dr. Robert West and his
team in 1978 and Surai Khola by Dongol in 1985 and again by Gudrin
Corvinus in 1988 in Nepal. |
 Stegodon bombifrons
(Family Stegodontiidae): The Gable–toothed Elephant or Stegodon
bombifrons is the initial stage of the true elephant family, or more
correctly, the transition from Mastodon to Elephant. In
Bardia
National Park in Nepal, there is a population of Indian elephants
which, possibly due to inbreeding, exhibit many Stegodons like
morphological features. Some dismiss these primitive features as recent
mutations rather than atavisms. Gudrin Corvinus found the skull of this
elephant at Rato Khola, in Nepal in 1988. |
 Stegodon ganesa
(Synonym Stegodon insignis) (Family Stegodontiidae): Stegodon, also
known as roofed tooth elephant, is the genus of the sub family
Stegodontinae. Although it was assigned to the family Elephantidae by
some authors, but it has more comfortably been placed in Stegodontiidae
due to its certain features which are more towards stegodons than true
elephants. In some individuals the tusks were so close together that
the trunk probably did not lie between them but instead draped over.
The molars of Stegodon ganesa are reported from Kathmandu valley
(Sharma & Singh, 1966 and Corvinus, 1988) and Babai Khola (West
& Munthe, 1981). |
 Elephas hysudricus
(Synonym: Hyselephas hysudricus) (Family Elephantidae): Elephas
hysudricus is an extinct elephant species and was described from fossil
remains found in the Siwalik Hills. It lived during the Miocene and
Pliocene epochs. The molar teeth of Elephas hysudricus has been
reported from Kathmandu valley by Dongol in 1987. |
 Elephas namadicus
(Family Elephantidae): Elephas namadicus was a species of 2.1
metre–tall prehistoric elephant that ranged throughout Pleistocene Asia
from India (where it was first discovered) to Japan where the
indigenous Neolithic cultures hunted that particular subspecies for
food. Elephas namadicus is a descendant of the Straight-tusked
elephant. The molar teeth of Elephas namadicus was discovered from the
alluvial deposits of Binai Khola near Pidari village at Dumkibas in
Nawalparasi. |
Related stamps:
| "Fossils of Nepal", Nepal 2013 | "Natural History Museum of Nepal", Nepal 2014 | "Prehistoric mammals of Nepal", Nepal 2017 |
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Recommended Book:
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Book: "Prehistoric
Mammals of
Nepal"
Paper back
Published by Natural History Museum
Language: English
Pages 10 +114 = 124
Colour: 12 pages. The book is written by Prof. Dr. Ramesh Shrestha, Chief, Natural History Museum, who also consult the stamp designer and is about all 26 different types of prehistoric mammals are known from fossil evidences found in Nepal.  Release of the book: Prehistoric Mammals of Nepal by Ramesh Shrestha. Released by Prof. Dr. Ishwar Chandra Dutta, Chairman of Tribhuvan University Service Commission. |
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Acknowledgement: Many thanks to Prof. Dr. Ramesh Shrestha, Chief, Natural History Museum for his support.
References: Natural History Museum of Nepal, The Katmandu Post Inside text of FDC Wikipedia
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Latest update 09.11.2017
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