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*{{extinct}}''[[Elephas ekorensis]]''? | *{{extinct}}''[[Elephas ekorensis]]''? | ||
*{{extinct}}''[[Elephas planifrons]]'' | *{{extinct}}''[[Elephas planifrons]]'' | ||
*{{extinct}}''[[Elephas beyeri]]''? | |||
For others, see text | For others, see text | ||
| synonyms = *''Hypselephas'' | | synonyms = *''Hypselephas'' | ||
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[[File:Em - Elephas maximus - GMZ 1.jpg|left|thumb|Skull of ''Elephas maximus'']] | [[File:Em - Elephas maximus - GMZ 1.jpg|left|thumb|Skull of ''Elephas maximus'']] | ||
[[File:Manchester Museum 2015 001 - Asian elephant.jpg|left|thumb|Skeleton of an adult male Asian elephant]] | [[File:Manchester Museum 2015 001 - Asian elephant.jpg|left|thumb|Skeleton of an adult male Asian elephant]] | ||
Species of ''Elephas'' have distinct bossing of the parieto-occipital region of the skull. The [[premaxilla]]e bones containing the tusks are tapered.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Hanwen |last2=Pape |first2=Thomas |last3=Lister |first3=Adrian M. |date=2018-01-02 |title=On the type material of Elephas hysudrindicus Dubois, 1908 (Mammalia, Proboscidea) |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2017.1425211 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |language=en |volume=38 |issue=1 | | Species of ''Elephas'' have distinct bossing of the parieto-occipital region of the skull. The [[premaxilla]]e bones containing the tusks are tapered.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Hanwen |last2=Pape |first2=Thomas |last3=Lister |first3=Adrian M. |date=2018-01-02 |title=On the type material of Elephas hysudrindicus Dubois, 1908 (Mammalia, Proboscidea) |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2017.1425211 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |language=en |volume=38 |issue=1 |article-number=e1425211 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2017.1425211 |bibcode=2018JVPal..38E5211Z |issn=0272-4634|url-access=subscription }}</ref> | ||
== Evolutionary history == | == Evolutionary history == | ||
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|1=''Elephas'' (Asian elephants) [[File:Indian elephant white background.jpg|60 px]] | |1=''Elephas'' (Asian elephants) [[File:Indian elephant white background.jpg|60 px]] | ||
|2={{extinct}}''[[Mammuthus]]'' (mammoths) [[File:Mammuthus trogontherii122DB.jpg|70 px]] | |2={{extinct}}''[[Mammuthus]]'' (mammoths) [[File:Mammuthus trogontherii122DB.jpg|70 px]] | ||
}}}}|label1=[[Elephantidae]]}}Asian elephants share a closer common ancestry with [[mammoth]]s (genus ''Mammuthus'') than they do with [[African elephant]]s (''Loxodonta'').<ref name="Fleischer2001">{{cite journal |last1=Fleischer |first1=R. C. |last2=Perry |first2=E. A. |last3=Muralidharan |first3=K. |last4=Stevens |first4=E. E. |last5=Wemmer |first5=C. M. |name-list-style=amp |year=2001 |title=Phylogeography of the Asian Elephant (''Elephas maximus'') based on mitochondrial DNA |journal=Evolution |volume=55 |issue=9 |pages=1882–1892 |doi=10.1111/j.0014-3820.2001.tb00837.x |pmid=11681743 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The oldest species attributed to the genus ''Elephas'' is ''E. nawataensis'' from the Late [[Miocene]]-Early [[Pliocene]] of Kenya, though the validity of this species and its relationship to ''Elephas'' has been doubted.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=Manthi |first1=Fredrick Kyalo |last2=Sanders |first2=William J. |last3=Plavcan |first3=J. Michael |last4=Cerling |first4=Thure E. |last5=Brown |first5=Francis H. |date=September 2020 |title=Late Middle Pleistocene Elephants from Natodomeri, Kenya and the Disappearance of Elephas (Proboscidea, Mammalia) in Africa |url= | }}}}|label1=[[Elephantidae]]}}Asian elephants share a closer common ancestry with [[mammoth]]s (genus ''Mammuthus'') than they do with [[African elephant]]s (''Loxodonta'').<ref name="Fleischer2001">{{cite journal |last1=Fleischer |first1=R. C. |last2=Perry |first2=E. A. |last3=Muralidharan |first3=K. |last4=Stevens |first4=E. E. |last5=Wemmer |first5=C. M. |name-list-style=amp |year=2001 |title=Phylogeography of the Asian Elephant (''Elephas maximus'') based on mitochondrial DNA |journal=Evolution |volume=55 |issue=9 |pages=1882–1892 |doi=10.1111/j.0014-3820.2001.tb00837.x |pmid=11681743 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The oldest species attributed to the genus ''Elephas'' is ''E. nawataensis'' from the Late [[Miocene]]-Early [[Pliocene]] of Kenya, though the validity of this species and its relationship to ''Elephas'' has been doubted.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=Manthi |first1=Fredrick Kyalo |last2=Sanders |first2=William J. |last3=Plavcan |first3=J. Michael |last4=Cerling |first4=Thure E. |last5=Brown |first5=Francis H. |date=September 2020 |title=Late Middle Pleistocene Elephants from Natodomeri, Kenya and the Disappearance of Elephas (Proboscidea, Mammalia) in Africa |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10914-019-09474-9 |journal=Journal of Mammalian Evolution |language=en |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=483–495 |doi=10.1007/s10914-019-09474-9 |issn=1064-7554|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The oldest species widely attributed to the genus, ''[[Elephas ekorensis]]'' is known from the early-mid Pliocene (5–4.2 million years ago) of East Africa'',''<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sanders |first1=William J. |last2=Haile-Selassie |first2=Yohannes |date=June 2012 |title=A New Assemblage of Mid-Pliocene Proboscideans from the Woranso-Mille Area, Afar Region, Ethiopia: Taxonomic, Evolutionary, and Paleoecological Considerations |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10914-011-9181-y |journal=Journal of Mammalian Evolution |language=en |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=105–128 |doi=10.1007/s10914-011-9181-y |s2cid=254703858 |issn=1064-7554|url-access=subscription }}</ref> though the attribution of this species to ''Elephas'' has been questioned, due to a lack of shared morphological features with later ''Elephas'' species.''<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Sanders |first=William J. |date=March 2020 |title=Proboscidea from Kanapoi, Kenya |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0047248418303919 |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |language=en |volume=140 |page=102547 |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.10.013|pmid=30745193 |bibcode=2020JHumE.14002547S |s2cid=73451588 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>'' The oldest record of the genus outside of Africa is ''[[Elephas planifrons]]'' which is known from the Late Pliocene of the Indian subcontinent, around 3.6 million years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Iannucci |first1=Alessio |last2=Sardella |first2=Raffaele |date=2023-02-28 |title=What Does the "Elephant-Equus" Event Mean Today? Reflections on Mammal Dispersal Events around the Pliocene-Pleistocene Boundary and the Flexible Ambiguity of Biochronology |journal=Quaternary |language=en |volume=6 |issue=1 |page=16 |doi=10.3390/quat6010016 |doi-access=free |issn=2571-550X|hdl=11573/1680082 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> However, the placement of ''Elephas planifrons'' within the genus has also been questioned.<ref>H. Zhang [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kwhvt5LOFro ''Elephas recki'': the wastebasket?] 66th Symposium of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy, Manchester. (2018)</ref> The earliest fossils of the ancestor of the modern Asian elephant, ''[[Elephas hysudricus]]'' date to the beginning of the Pleistocene, around 2.6 million years ago, with remains found on the Indian subcontinent.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Lister |first1=Adrian M. |last2=Dirks |first2=Wendy |last3=Assaf |first3=Amnon |last4=Chazan |first4=Michael |last5=Goldberg |first5=Paul |last6=Applbaum |first6=Yaakov H. |last7=Greenbaum |first7=Nathalie |last8=Horwitz |first8=Liora Kolska |date=September 2013 |title=New fossil remains of Elephas from the southern Levant: Implications for the evolutionary history of the Asian elephant |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S003101821300237X |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |language=en |volume=386 |pages=119–130 |bibcode=2013PPP...386..119L |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.05.013|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Modern Asian elephants had evolved from ''E. hysrudicus'' by the [[Late Pleistocene]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ma |first1=Jiao |last2=Wang |first2=Yuan |last3=Jin |first3=Changzhu |last4=Hu |first4=Yaowu |last5=Bocherens |first5=Hervé |date=May 2019 |title=Ecological flexibility and differential survival of Pleistocene Stegodon orientalis and Elephas maximus in mainland southeast Asia revealed by stable isotope (C, O) analysis |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379118309648 |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |language=en |volume=212 |pages=33–44 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.03.021|bibcode=2019QSRv..212...33M |s2cid=135056116 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> | ||
==Taxonomy== | ==Taxonomy== | ||
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** ''[[Sri Lankan elephant|Elephas maximus maximus]]'' – Sri Lankan elephant | ** ''[[Sri Lankan elephant|Elephas maximus maximus]]'' – Sri Lankan elephant | ||
** ''[[Sumatran elephant|Elephas maximus sumatranus]]'' – Sumatran elephant | ** ''[[Sumatran elephant|Elephas maximus sumatranus]]'' – Sumatran elephant | ||
** ''[[Borneo elephant|Elephas maximus borneensis]]'' – Borneo elephant, proposed but not yet recognized as valid<ref name=Fernando03>Fernando, P., Vidya, T.N.C., Payne, J., Stuewe, M., Davison, G., et al. (2003). [ | ** ''[[Borneo elephant|Elephas maximus borneensis]]'' – Borneo elephant, proposed but not yet recognized as valid<ref name=Fernando03>Fernando, P., Vidya, T.N.C., Payne, J., Stuewe, M., Davison, G., et al. (2003). [https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.0000006 ''DNA Analysis Indicates That Asian Elephants Are Native to Borneo and Are Therefore a High Priority for Conservation'']. PLoS Biol 1 (#1): e6</ref> | ||
The following Asian elephants were proposed as [[extinct]] subspecies, but are now considered [[Synonym (taxonomy)|synonymous]] with the Indian elephant:<ref name = MSW3/> | The following Asian elephants were proposed as [[extinct]] subspecies, but are now considered [[Synonym (taxonomy)|synonymous]] with the Indian elephant:<ref name = MSW3/> | ||
* ''[[Javan elephant|Elephas maximus sondaicus]]'' – Javan elephant [[Extinction|†]] | * ''[[Javan elephant|Elephas maximus sondaicus]]'' – Javan elephant [[Extinction|†]] | ||
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The following ''Elephas'' species are extinct: | The following ''Elephas'' species are extinct: | ||
* ''[[Elephas beyeri]]'' – dwarf elephant species described | * ''[[Elephas beyeri]]''? – possible dwarf elephant species described by [[Gustav Heinrich Ralph von Koenigswald|von Königswald]] in 1956 from a single now lost cheek tooth found in the northern [[Philippines]].<ref>Von Königswald, G.H.R. (1956). ''Fossil mammals from the Philippines''. National Research Council of the Philippines, Manila</ref> | ||
* ''[[Elephas ekorensis]]'' – described from the Kubi Algi Formation, [[Turkana District|Turkana]], [[Kenya]],<ref name=Maglio1973/> dating to the Early Pliocene, one of the oldest species of the genus.<ref name="Sanders-2012">{{Cite journal |last1=Sanders |first1=William J. |last2=Haile-Selassie |first2=Yohannes |date=June 2012 |title=A New Assemblage of Mid-Pliocene Proboscideans from the Woranso-Mille Area, Afar Region, Ethiopia: Taxonomic, Evolutionary, and Paleoecological Considerations |url= | * ''[[Elephas ekorensis]]'' – described from the Kubi Algi Formation, [[Turkana District|Turkana]], [[Kenya]],<ref name=Maglio1973/> dating to the Early Pliocene, one of the oldest species of the genus.<ref name="Sanders-2012">{{Cite journal |last1=Sanders |first1=William J. |last2=Haile-Selassie |first2=Yohannes |date=June 2012 |title=A New Assemblage of Mid-Pliocene Proboscideans from the Woranso-Mille Area, Afar Region, Ethiopia: Taxonomic, Evolutionary, and Paleoecological Considerations |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10914-011-9181-y |journal=Journal of Mammalian Evolution |language=en |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=105–128 |doi=10.1007/s10914-011-9181-y |issn=1064-7554 |s2cid=254703858|url-access=subscription }}</ref> | ||
* ''[[Elephas hysudricus]]'' – described from fossil remains found in the [[Siwalik hills|Siwalik Hills]] of the northern Indian subcontinent by [[Hugh Falconer|Falconer]] and [[Proby Cautley|Cautley]], 1845,<ref>Falconer, H. & Cautley, P. T. (1846). [https://books.google.com/books?id=0SE-AAAAcAAJ ''Fauna Antiqua Sivalensis, Being the Fossil Zoology of the Sewalik Hills'']. Smith, Elder & Company, London, pp. 64.</ref> thought to be the ancestor of the living Asian elephant.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lister |first1=Adrian M. |last2=Dirks |first2=Wendy |last3=Assaf |first3=Amnon |last4=Chazan |first4=Michael |last5=Goldberg |first5=Paul |last6=Applbaum |first6=Yaakov H. |last7=Greenbaum |first7=Nathalie |last8=Horwitz |first8=Liora Kolska |date=September 2013 |title=New fossil remains of Elephas from the southern Levant: Implications for the evolutionary history of the Asian elephant |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S003101821300237X |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |language=en |volume=386 |pages=119–130 |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.05.013|bibcode=2013PPP...386..119L |url-access=subscription }}</ref> | * ''[[Elephas hysudricus]]'' – described from fossil remains found in the [[Siwalik hills|Siwalik Hills]] of the northern Indian subcontinent by [[Hugh Falconer|Falconer]] and [[Proby Cautley|Cautley]], 1845,<ref>Falconer, H. & Cautley, P. T. (1846). [https://books.google.com/books?id=0SE-AAAAcAAJ ''Fauna Antiqua Sivalensis, Being the Fossil Zoology of the Sewalik Hills'']. Smith, Elder & Company, London, pp. 64.</ref> thought to be the ancestor of the living Asian elephant.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lister |first1=Adrian M. |last2=Dirks |first2=Wendy |last3=Assaf |first3=Amnon |last4=Chazan |first4=Michael |last5=Goldberg |first5=Paul |last6=Applbaum |first6=Yaakov H. |last7=Greenbaum |first7=Nathalie |last8=Horwitz |first8=Liora Kolska |date=September 2013 |title=New fossil remains of Elephas from the southern Levant: Implications for the evolutionary history of the Asian elephant |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S003101821300237X |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |language=en |volume=386 |pages=119–130 |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.05.013|bibcode=2013PPP...386..119L |url-access=subscription }}</ref> | ||
* ''[[Elephas hysudrindicus]]'' – a fossil elephant of the [[Pleistocene]] of [[Java (island)|Java]] and different from ''Elephas maximus sondaicus''<ref>Hooijer, D. A. (1955). [ | * ''[[Elephas hysudrindicus]]'' – a fossil elephant of the [[Pleistocene]] of [[Java (island)|Java]] and different from ''Elephas maximus sondaicus''<ref>Hooijer, D. A. (1955). [https://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/149023 ''Fossil Proboscidea from the Malay Archipelago and the Punjab'']. Zoologische Verhandelingen, 28 (#1): 1–146.</ref> | ||
* ''[[Elephas planifrons]]'' - one of the oldest species, known from the Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene of the Indian subcontinent.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite journal |last1=Iannucci |first1=Alessio |last2=Sardella |first2=Raffaele |date=28 February 2023 |title=What Does the "Elephant-Equus" Event Mean Today? Reflections on Mammal Dispersal Events around the Pliocene-Pleistocene Boundary and the Flexible Ambiguity of Biochronology |journal=Quaternary |language=en |volume=6 |issue=1 | | * ''[[Elephas planifrons]]'' - one of the oldest species, known from the Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene of the Indian subcontinent.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite journal |last1=Iannucci |first1=Alessio |last2=Sardella |first2=Raffaele |date=28 February 2023 |title=What Does the "Elephant-Equus" Event Mean Today? Reflections on Mammal Dispersal Events around the Pliocene-Pleistocene Boundary and the Flexible Ambiguity of Biochronology |journal=Quaternary |language=en |volume=6 |issue=1 |page=16 |doi=10.3390/quat6010016 |issn=2571-550X |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free |hdl=11573/1680082}}</ref> | ||
* ''[[Elephas platycephalus]]'' a species sometimes recognised from the Pleistocene of India | * ''[[Elephas platycephalus]]'' a species sometimes recognised from the Pleistocene of India | ||
* ''Elephas kiangnanensis'' a species sometimes recognised from the Early-Middle Pleistocene of China.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Hanwen |last2=Wang |first2=Yuan |last3=Janis |first3=Christine M. |last4=Goodall |first4=Robert H. |last5=Purnell |first5=Mark A. |date=July 2017 |title=An examination of feeding ecology in Pleistocene proboscideans from southern China ( Sinomastodon , Stegodon , Elephas ), by means of dental microwear texture analysis |journal=Quaternary International |language=en |volume=445 |pages=60–70 |doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2016.07.011|bibcode=2017QuInt.445...60Z |doi-access=free |hdl=1983/4f6a743a-7b6d-47c8-a56a-fee7e2c515df |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>Haowen Tong & M. [[Marylène Patou-Mathis|Patou-Mathis]]. (2003). Mammoth and other proboscideans in China during the Late Pleistocene. ''Deinsea'', ''9''(1), 421–428.</ref> | * ''Elephas kiangnanensis'' a species sometimes recognised from the Early-Middle Pleistocene of China.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Hanwen |last2=Wang |first2=Yuan |last3=Janis |first3=Christine M. |last4=Goodall |first4=Robert H. |last5=Purnell |first5=Mark A. |date=July 2017 |title=An examination of feeding ecology in Pleistocene proboscideans from southern China ( Sinomastodon , Stegodon , Elephas ), by means of dental microwear texture analysis |journal=Quaternary International |language=en |volume=445 |pages=60–70 |doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2016.07.011|bibcode=2017QuInt.445...60Z |doi-access=free |hdl=1983/4f6a743a-7b6d-47c8-a56a-fee7e2c515df |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>Haowen Tong & M. [[Marylène Patou-Mathis|Patou-Mathis]]. (2003). Mammoth and other proboscideans in China during the Late Pleistocene. ''Deinsea'', ''9''(1), 421–428.</ref> | ||
* ''Elephas nawataensis'' a species of elephant known from the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene of Kenya, though other authors argue that this species is actually a synonym of ''[[Primelephas korotorensis]].''<ref name=":3" /> | * ''Elephas nawataensis'' a species of elephant known from the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene of Kenya, though other authors argue that this species is actually a synonym of ''[[Primelephas korotorensis]].''<ref name=":3" /> | ||
* ''Elephas atavus''? known from the Early Pleistocene of Africa, traditionally considered part of ''[[Palaeoloxodon recki|Elephas/Palaeoloxodon recki]]'' | * ''Elephas atavus''? known from the Early Pleistocene of Africa, traditionally considered part of ''[[Palaeoloxodon recki|Elephas/Palaeoloxodon recki]]'' | ||
While formerly assigned to this genus, ''[[Elephas recki]]'', ''[[Elephas namadicus]]'', the [[straight-tusked elephant]] ''E. antiquus'' and the [[dwarf elephant]]s ''[[Elephas falconeri|E. falconeri]]'' and ''[[Elephas cypriotes|E. cypriotes]]'' are now placed in the separate genus ''[[Palaeoloxodon]],'' which is more closely related to African elephants.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Palkopoulou |first1=Eleftheria |last2=Lipson |first2=Mark |last3=Mallick |first3=Swapan |last4=Nielsen |first4=Svend |last5=Rohland |first5=Nadin |last6=Baleka |first6=Sina |last7=Karpinski |first7=Emil |last8=Ivancevic |first8=Atma M. |last9=To |first9=Thu-Hien |last10=Kortschak |first10=R. Daniel |last11=Raison |first11=Joy M. |date=2018-03-13 |title=A comprehensive genomic history of extinct and living elephants |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=115 |issue=11 |pages=E2566–E2574 |bibcode=2018PNAS..115E2566P |doi=10.1073/pnas.1720554115 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=5856550 |pmid=29483247 |doi-access=free}}</ref> However, some material historically assigned to ''Elephas recki'' , such as ''Elephas recki atavus,'' may be closely related to true ''Elephas,'' rather than to ''Palaeoloxodon<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Sanders |first=William J. |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781315118918 |title=Evolution and Fossil Record of African Proboscidea |date=2023-07-07 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-315-11891-8 |edition=1 |location=Boca Raton |pages=267–293 |language=en |doi=10.1201/b20016}}</ref>'' ''[[Elephas celebensis|"Elephas" celebensis]]'' is now placed in ''[[Stegoloxodon]]''.<ref name=":03">{{Cite journal |last1=Markov |first1=Georgi N. |last2=Saegusa |first2=Haruo |date=2008-09-01 |title=On the validity of Stegoloxodon Kretzoi, 1950 (Mammalia: Proboscidea) |url=https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.1861.1.5 |journal=Zootaxa |volume=1861 |issue=1 | | While formerly assigned to this genus, ''[[Elephas recki]]'', ''[[Elephas namadicus]]'', the [[straight-tusked elephant]] ''E. antiquus'' and the [[dwarf elephant]]s ''[[Elephas falconeri|E. falconeri]]'' and ''[[Elephas cypriotes|E. cypriotes]]'' are now placed in the separate genus ''[[Palaeoloxodon]],'' which is more closely related to African elephants.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Palkopoulou |first1=Eleftheria |last2=Lipson |first2=Mark |last3=Mallick |first3=Swapan |last4=Nielsen |first4=Svend |last5=Rohland |first5=Nadin |last6=Baleka |first6=Sina |last7=Karpinski |first7=Emil |last8=Ivancevic |first8=Atma M. |last9=To |first9=Thu-Hien |last10=Kortschak |first10=R. Daniel |last11=Raison |first11=Joy M. |date=2018-03-13 |title=A comprehensive genomic history of extinct and living elephants |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=115 |issue=11 |pages=E2566–E2574 |bibcode=2018PNAS..115E2566P |doi=10.1073/pnas.1720554115 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=5856550 |pmid=29483247 |doi-access=free}}</ref> However, some material historically assigned to ''Elephas recki'' , such as ''Elephas recki atavus,'' may be closely related to true ''Elephas,'' rather than to ''Palaeoloxodon<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Sanders |first=William J. |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781315118918 |title=Evolution and Fossil Record of African Proboscidea |date=2023-07-07 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-315-11891-8 |edition=1 |location=Boca Raton |pages=267–293 |language=en |doi=10.1201/b20016}}</ref>'' ''[[Elephas celebensis|"Elephas" celebensis]]'' is now placed in ''[[Stegoloxodon]]''.<ref name=":03">{{Cite journal |last1=Markov |first1=Georgi N. |last2=Saegusa |first2=Haruo |date=2008-09-01 |title=On the validity of Stegoloxodon Kretzoi, 1950 (Mammalia: Proboscidea) |url=https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.1861.1.5 |journal=Zootaxa |volume=1861 |issue=1 |page=55 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.1861.1.5 |issn=1175-5334|url-access=subscription }}</ref> | ||
== References == | == References == | ||
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[[Category:Mammal genera]] | [[Category:Mammal genera]] | ||
[[Category:Mammal genera with one living species]] | [[Category:Mammal genera with one living species]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]] | ||
Latest revision as of 14:28, 16 December 2025
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Distinguish". Script error: No such module "about". Template:Automatic taxobox
Elephas is a genus of elephants and one of two surviving genera in the family Elephantidae, comprising one extant species, the Asian elephant (E. maximus).[1] Several extinct species have been identified as belonging to the genus, extending back to the Pliocene or possibly the late Miocene.
Description
Species of Elephas have distinct bossing of the parieto-occipital region of the skull. The premaxillae bones containing the tusks are tapered.[2]
Evolutionary history
Relationships of living and extinct elephantids based on DNA, after Palkopoulou et al. 2018.[3]Script error: No such module "Clade".Asian elephants share a closer common ancestry with mammoths (genus Mammuthus) than they do with African elephants (Loxodonta).[4] The oldest species attributed to the genus Elephas is E. nawataensis from the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene of Kenya, though the validity of this species and its relationship to Elephas has been doubted.[5] The oldest species widely attributed to the genus, Elephas ekorensis is known from the early-mid Pliocene (5–4.2 million years ago) of East Africa,[6] though the attribution of this species to Elephas has been questioned, due to a lack of shared morphological features with later Elephas species.[7] The oldest record of the genus outside of Africa is Elephas planifrons which is known from the Late Pliocene of the Indian subcontinent, around 3.6 million years ago.[8] However, the placement of Elephas planifrons within the genus has also been questioned.[9] The earliest fossils of the ancestor of the modern Asian elephant, Elephas hysudricus date to the beginning of the Pleistocene, around 2.6 million years ago, with remains found on the Indian subcontinent.[10] Modern Asian elephants had evolved from E. hysrudicus by the Late Pleistocene.[11]
Taxonomy
The scientific name Elephas was proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 who described the genus and an elephant from Ceylon.[12] The genus is assigned to the proboscidean family Elephantidae and is made up of one living and seven extinct species:[13]
- Elephas maximus – Asian elephant[1]
- Elephas maximus indicus – Indian elephant
- Elephas maximus maximus – Sri Lankan elephant
- Elephas maximus sumatranus – Sumatran elephant
- Elephas maximus borneensis – Borneo elephant, proposed but not yet recognized as valid[14]
The following Asian elephants were proposed as extinct subspecies, but are now considered synonymous with the Indian elephant:[1]
- Elephas maximus sondaicus – Javan elephant †
- Elephas maximus rubridens – Chinese elephant †
- Elephas maximus asurus – Syrian elephant †
The following Elephas species are extinct:
- Elephas beyeri? – possible dwarf elephant species described by von Königswald in 1956 from a single now lost cheek tooth found in the northern Philippines.[15]
- Elephas ekorensis – described from the Kubi Algi Formation, Turkana, Kenya,[13] dating to the Early Pliocene, one of the oldest species of the genus.[16]
- Elephas hysudricus – described from fossil remains found in the Siwalik Hills of the northern Indian subcontinent by Falconer and Cautley, 1845,[17] thought to be the ancestor of the living Asian elephant.[18]
- Elephas hysudrindicus – a fossil elephant of the Pleistocene of Java and different from Elephas maximus sondaicus[19]
- Elephas planifrons - one of the oldest species, known from the Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene of the Indian subcontinent.[20]
- Elephas platycephalus a species sometimes recognised from the Pleistocene of India
- Elephas kiangnanensis a species sometimes recognised from the Early-Middle Pleistocene of China.[21][22]
- Elephas nawataensis a species of elephant known from the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene of Kenya, though other authors argue that this species is actually a synonym of Primelephas korotorensis.[5]
- Elephas atavus? known from the Early Pleistocene of Africa, traditionally considered part of Elephas/Palaeoloxodon recki
While formerly assigned to this genus, Elephas recki, Elephas namadicus, the straight-tusked elephant E. antiquus and the dwarf elephants E. falconeri and E. cypriotes are now placed in the separate genus Palaeoloxodon, which is more closely related to African elephants.[23] However, some material historically assigned to Elephas recki , such as Elephas recki atavus, may be closely related to true Elephas, rather than to Palaeoloxodon[24] "Elephas" celebensis is now placed in Stegoloxodon.[25]
References
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- ↑ a b c Template:MSW3 Proboscidea
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- ↑ H. Zhang Elephas recki: the wastebasket? 66th Symposium of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy, Manchester. (2018)
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- ↑ a b Maglio, V.J. (1973). "Origin and evolution of the Elephantidae". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia Volume 63. American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, pp. 149
- ↑ Fernando, P., Vidya, T.N.C., Payne, J., Stuewe, M., Davison, G., et al. (2003). DNA Analysis Indicates That Asian Elephants Are Native to Borneo and Are Therefore a High Priority for Conservation. PLoS Biol 1 (#1): e6
- ↑ Von Königswald, G.H.R. (1956). Fossil mammals from the Philippines. National Research Council of the Philippines, Manila
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Falconer, H. & Cautley, P. T. (1846). Fauna Antiqua Sivalensis, Being the Fossil Zoology of the Sewalik Hills. Smith, Elder & Company, London, pp. 64.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Hooijer, D. A. (1955). Fossil Proboscidea from the Malay Archipelago and the Punjab. Zoologische Verhandelingen, 28 (#1): 1–146.
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Haowen Tong & M. Patou-Mathis. (2003). Mammoth and other proboscideans in China during the Late Pleistocene. Deinsea, 9(1), 421–428.
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