Deinotheriidae ("terrible beasts") is a family of prehistoric elephant-like proboscideans that lived during the Cenozoic era, first appearing in Africa, then spreading across southern Asia (Indo-Pakistan) and Europe. During that time they changed very little, apart from growing much larger in size; by the late Miocene they had become the largest land animals of their time. Their most distinctive feature was the downward curving tusks on the lower jaw.