Cyprus: once home to the dwarf elephants and pygmy hippos An excavation in the Famagusta district has unearthed animal remains including tiny elephants and hippopotamuses dating back some 250,000 years. The recent findings in an area close to Ayia Napa revealed the skeletal remains of dwarf elephants (Elephas Cypriotes) and pygmy hippos (Phanourios minutis) as well as remains of ancient rats and bats. Other remains include fossilised flesh of animals and remains of now extinct birds. Similar remains have also been discovered in other Mediterranean islands such as Sardinia and Crete.