Charkadio Cave is located about 2 km to the south of Megalo Chorio, in the centre of Tilos island. This is a very important cave discovered in 1971 by the geologist and speleologist Nikolaos Simeonides. Further excavations brought into light Neolithic items, such as stone hunting tools and pieces of pottery.The most impressive thing is that in Charkadio Cave fossils of animals have been found, including turtles, deer and the special dwarf elephants. Scientists believe that these dwarf elephants were living on the island 45,000 years ago and that they disappeared about 4,000 years ago.

The excavations at Charkadio cave on the island of Tilos have brought to light a very rich fauna of endemic fossil dwarf elephants. The excavations, by the Department of Historical Geology and Palaeontology of University of Athens, started in 1971 and continue until today (Symeonides 1972, Bachmayer et al. 1976, 1984, Theodorou 1983, 1984, 1988, Theodorou et al. 1997). Recent excavations (July 2000 and July 2001) revealed for first time significant dwarf elephant skeletal remains, such as anterior and posterior legs and vertebrae from different juvenile and adult animals in anatomical position. The findings are presented to the public at the Town Hall of Megalo Chorio on Tilos Island.
On the island of Rhodos, bones of an endemic dwarf elephant have been discovered. This elephant was similar in size to Elephas mnaidriensis.

Two groups of remains of dwarf elephants have been found on the island of Tilos. They are similar in size to Elephas mnaidriensis and the smaller Elephas falconeri, but the two groups indicate sexual dimorphism. The remains had originally been designated to Palaeoloxodon antiquus falconeri (Busk, 1867). However, this name refers to the dwarf elephants from the island of Malta. As a result, since no migration route between the two islands can be proved, this name should not be used when referring to the elephant remnants from Tilos, although some scientists have accepted the temporal use of this name until further material can be examined.
The Tilos dwarf elephant is the first dwarf elephant whose DNA sequence has been studied. The results of this research are consistent with previous morphological reports, according to which Palaeoloxodon is more closely related to Elephas than to Loxodonta or Mammuthus. After the study of new osteological material <Theodorou et al. 2007> that has been excavated in anatomical connection in the Charkadio Cave on Tilos island the new species name Elephas tiliensis has been assigned to the Tilos dwarf elephants. It was the latest paleoloxodontine to survive in Europe. They became extinct just less than 4000 years , so this elephant survived well into the Holocene