THE modern elephant may be the biggest living land mammal on earth - but compared to its prehistoric ancestors it is positively puny.

A remarkable discovery in the hot sands of Abu Dhabi has revealed just how stupendous the modern creatures' forefathers really were.

Two York University graduates have found and preserved the giant tusk of the largest elephant fossil of its type to be found in the Middle East. The tusk is more than 8ft long and is thought to be up to eight million years old.

It was discovered by Dr Mark Beech, who finished his PhD at York recently and is now senior resident archaeologist for the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey.

He found the tusk in Abu Dhabi's western region during survey work for a construction company but it was in extremely fragile condition and to start with could not be moved.

So he returned to the site with fellow York graduate Will Higgs, a research associate in the university's department of archaeology.

They treated the tusk with chemicals to prevent it disintegrating, before covering it with a special foam and transporting it to be stored with a collection of fossils in Abu Dhabi. "We were stunned by the discovery," said Dr Beech.

"Only a small part of the tusk was initially visible on the surface although we suspected it might be an important find. It's incredible that the tusk survived."

He added: "Other elephant remains have been found in Abu Dhabi but this is much bigger. It's also the first complete tusk found in the region."