In some areas, most notably the islands of the Mediterranean Sea, this species seems to have developed into numerous dwarfed populations.
It is believed that early discoveries of the remains of these dwarf forms may have given rise to the legendary stories of the Cyclopes – ferocious human-like monsters with one eye.
Elephants tend to have poorly defined eye sockets in their skulls, so the central nasal opening looks like the socket for a single central eye. Oddly enough the Cyclopes are also said to have had tusks!