KUNMING, May 12  -- Archeologists have discovered the fossilized remains of a prehistoric relative of modern elephants in southwest China's Yunnan Province, they announced on Tuesday.

The fossil of the stegodon, which lived six million years ago, was found on Sunday in the Shuitangba excavation site in Zhaotong City.

"Most parts have been discovered except for its skull and lower jawbone," said Ji Xueping, a researcher with the provincial archeology institute.

Excavation work at the site is still under way.

Some of the world's earliest elephants originated in Yunnan. The new discovery is expected to provide clues as to the origin and evolution of stegodons and the process of climate change.

A fossilized elephant skeleton was discovered in the region in 2007. Archeologists have been poring over local land for fossils ever since.