Editing Elephant (section)

==Taxonomy==
{{cladogram|style=font-size:70%|align=right|caption=A cladogram of the elephants within [[Afrotheria]] based on molecular evidence<ref name=tabuce>{{cite journal|url=http://phylodiversity.net/azanne/csfar/images/d/d9/Afrotherian_mammals.pdf|first1=R.|last1=Tabuce|first2=R. J.|last2=Asher|first3=T.|last3=Lehmann|s2cid=46133294|year=2008|title=Afrotherian mammals: a review of current data|journal=Mammalia|volume=72|pages=2–14|doi=10.1515/MAMM.2008.004|access-date=19 June 2017|archive-date=24 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224122358/http://phylodiversity.net/azanne/csfar/images/d/d9/Afrotherian_mammals.pdf|url-status=usurped | issn=0025-1461}}</ref>
|{{clade
|label1=[[Afrotheria]]
|1={{Clade
   |label1=[[Afroinsectiphilia]]
   |1={{Clade
      |label1=[[Tubulidentata]]
                 |1=[[Orycteropodidae]] [[File:Aardvark2 (PSF) colourised.png|60 px]]
      |label2=[[Afroinsectivora]]
      |2={{Clade
         |label1=[[Macroscelidea]]
                    |1=[[Macroscelididae]] [[File:Rhynchocyon chrysopygus-J Smit white background.jpg|50 px]]
         |label2=[[Afrosoricida]]
                     |2={{Clade
                         |1=[[Chrysochloridae]] [[File:The animal kingdom, arranged according to its organization, serving as a foundation for the natural history of animals (Pl. 18) (Chrysochloris asiatica).jpg|50 px]]
                         |2=[[Tenrecidae]] [[File:Brehms Thierleben - Allgemeine Kunde des Thierreichs (1876) (Tenrec ecaudatus).jpg|50 px]]
      }} }} }}
   |label2=[[Paenungulata]]
   |2={{Clade
      |label1=[[Hyrax|Hyracoidea]]
                 |1=[[Hyrax|Procaviidae]] [[File:DendrohyraxEminiSmit white background.jpg|50 px]]
      |label2=[[Tethytheria]]
      |2={{Clade
         |label1=[[Proboscidea]]
                    |1=[[Elephantidae]] [[File:Elephas africanus - 1700-1880 - Print - Iconographia Zoologica - (white background).jpg|70 px]]
         |label2=[[Sirenia]]
                     |2={{Clade
                         |1=[[Dugongidae]] [[File:Dugong dugon Hardwicke white background.jpg|60 px]]
                         |2=[[Trichechidae]] [[File:Manatee white background.jpg|60 px]]
         }} }} }} }} }}}}
Elephants belong to the family [[Elephantidae]], the sole remaining family within the order [[Proboscidea]]. Their closest [[extant taxon|extant]] relatives are the [[sirenia]]ns ([[dugong]]s and [[manatee]]s) and the [[hyrax]]es, with which they share the [[clade]] [[Paenungulata]] within the superorder [[Afrotheria]].<ref name="Ozawa">{{cite journal|author1=Kellogg, M. |author2=Burkett, S. |author3=Dennis, T. R. |author4=Stone, G. |author5=Gray, B. A. |author6=McGuire, P. M. |author7=Zori, R. T. |author8=Stanyon, R. |year=2007|title=Chromosome painting in the manatee supports Afrotheria and Paenungulata|journal=Evolutionary Biology|volume=7|issue=1 |page=6|doi=10.1186/1471-2148-7-6 |pmid=17244368 |pmc=1784077 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2007BMCEE...7....6K }}</ref> Elephants and sirenians are further grouped in the clade [[Tethytheria]].<ref name=Ozawa2>{{cite journal|author1=Ozawa, T. |author2=Hayashi, S. |author3=Mikhelson, V. M. |s2cid=417046 |year=1997|title=Phylogenetic position of mammoth and Steller's sea cow within tethytheria demonstrated by mitochondrial DNA sequences|journal=Journal of Molecular Evolution|volume=44|issue=4|pages=406–13|doi=10.1007/PL00006160|pmid=9089080|bibcode=1997JMolE..44..406O}}</ref>

Three species of living elephants are recognised; the [[African bush elephant]] (''[[Loxodonta]] africana''), [[African forest elephant|forest elephant]] (''Loxodonta cyclotis''), and [[Asian elephant]] (''[[Elephas]] maximus'').<ref name=MSW3>{{cite book|author=Shoshani, J.|year=2005|contribution=Order Proboscidea|editor1=Wilson, D. E.|editor2=Reeder, D. M|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JgAMbNSt8ikC&pg=PA91|title=Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference|volume=1|edition=3rd|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|pages=90–91|isbn=978-0-8018-8221-0|oclc=62265494|access-date=11 November 2016|archive-date=1 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150201164505/http://www.google.com/books?id=JgAMbNSt8ikC&pg=PA91|url-status=live}}</ref> [[African elephant]]s were traditionally considered a single species, ''Loxodonta africana'', but molecular studies have affirmed their status as separate species.<ref name=DNA>{{cite journal|author1=Rohland, N. |author2=Reich, D. |author3=Mallick, S. |author4=Meyer, M. |author5=Green, R. E. |author6=Georgiadis, N. J. |author7=Roca, A. L. |author8=Hofreiter, M. | title =Genomic DNA Sequences from Mastodon and Woolly Mammoth Reveal Deep Speciation of Forest and Savanna Elephants| journal = PLOS Biology | volume =8| issue =12| year =2010| doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.1000564| page =e1000564 | pmid =21203580 | pmc =3006346| editor1-last =Penny| editor1-first =David |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Ishida">{{cite journal|author1=Ishida, Y. |author2=Oleksyk, T. K. |author3=Georgiadis, N. J. |author4=David, V. A. |author5=Zhao, K. |author6=Stephens, R. M. |author7=Kolokotronis, S.-O. |author8=Roca, A. L. |year=2011|title=Reconciling apparent conflicts between mitochondrial and nuclear phylogenies in African elephants|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=6|issue=6|page=e20642|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0020642|editor1-last=Murphy|editor1-first=William J|pmid=21701575|pmc=3110795|bibcode=2011PLoSO...620642I|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="genomic">{{Cite journal|title = Elephant Natural History: A Genomic Perspective|journal = Annual Review of Animal Biosciences|date = 2015|pmid = 25493538|pages = 139–167|volume = 3|issue = 1|doi = 10.1146/annurev-animal-022114-110838|first1 = Alfred L.|last1 = Roca|first2 = Yasuko|last2 = Ishida|first3 = Adam L.|last3 = Brandt|first4 = Neal R.|last4 = Benjamin|first5 = Kai|last5 = Zhao|first6 = Nicholas J.|last6 = Georgiadis}}</ref> [[Mammoth]]s (''Mammuthus'') are nested within living elephants as they are more closely related to Asian elephants than to African elephants.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Roca |first1=Alfred L. |last2=Ishida |first2=Yasuko |last3=Brandt |first3=Adam L. |last4=Benjamin |first4=Neal R. |last5=Zhao |first5=Kai |last6=Georgiadis |first6=Nicholas J. |date=2015 |title=Elephant Natural History: A Genomic Perspective |journal=Annual Review of Animal Biosciences |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=139–167 |doi=10.1146/annurev-animal-022114-110838 |pmid=25493538}}</ref> Another extinct genus of elephant, ''[[Palaeoloxodon]]'', is also recognised, which appears to have close affinities with African elephants and to have hybridised with African forest elephants.<ref name="Palkopoulou">{{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 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1720554115 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=5856550 |pmid=29483247 |bibcode=2018PNAS..115E2566P |doi-access=free}}</ref> Some species of the extinct ''[[Palaeoloxodon]]'' were even larger, all exceeding 4 metres in height and 10 tonnes in body mass, with ''[[Palaeoloxodon namadicus|P. namadicus]]'' being a contender for the largest land mammal to have ever existed.<ref name="Larramendi, A. 2015" />

===Evolution===
The earliest members of Proboscidea like ''[[Eritherium]]'' are known from the [[Paleocene]] of Africa, around 60 million years ago, the earliest proboscideans were much smaller than living elephants, with ''Eritherium'' having a body mass of around {{cvt|3-8|kg}}.<ref name="Gheerbrant2">{{cite journal |author=Gheerbrant, E. |year=2009 |title=Paleocene emergence of elephant relatives and the rapid radiation of African ungulates |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=106 |issue=26 |pages=10717–10721 |bibcode=2009PNAS..10610717G |doi=10.1073/pnas.0900251106 |pmc=2705600 |pmid=19549873 |doi-access=free}}</ref> By the late Eocene, some members of Proboscidea like ''[[Barytherium]]'' had reached considerable size, with an estimated mass of around 2 tonnes,<ref name="Larramendi, A. 2015" /> while others like ''[[Moeritherium]]'' are suggested to have been semi-aquatic.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Alexander G. S. C. |last2=Seiffert |first2=Erik R. |last3=Simons |first3=Elwyn L. |date=2008-04-15 |title=Stable isotope evidence for an amphibious phase in early proboscidean evolution |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=105 |issue=15 |pages=5786–5791 |bibcode=2008PNAS..105.5786L |doi=10.1073/pnas.0800884105 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=2311368 |pmid=18413605 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

{{cladogram|style=font-size:70%|caption=Proboscidea phylogeny based on morphological and DNA evidence<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Baleka|first1=S. |last2=Varela |first2=L. |last3=Tambusso|first3=P. S.|last4=Paijmans|first4=J. L. A.|last5=Mothé|first5=D. |last6=Stafford Jr.|first6=T. W. |last7=Fariña|first7=R. A. |last8=Hofreiter |first8=M. |year=2022|title=Revisiting proboscidean phylogeny and evolution through total evidence and palaeogenetic analyses including ''Notiomastodon'' ancient DNA |journal=iScience |volume=25|issue=1 |page=103559 |doi=10.1016/j.isci.2021.103559 |pmid=34988402 |pmc=8693454 |bibcode=2022iSci...25j3559B}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Benoit |first1=J. |chapter=Paleoneurology of the Proboscidea (Mammalia, Afrotheria): Insights from Their Brain Endocast and Labyrinth |date=2023 |title=Paleoneurology of Amniotes |pages=579–644 |editor-last=Dozo |editor-first=M. T. |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-13983-3_15 |isbn=978-3-031-13982-6 |last2=Lyras |first2=G. A. |last3=Schmitt |first3=A. |last4=Nxumalo |first4=M. |last5=Tabuce |first5=R. |last6=Obada |first6=T. |last7=Mararsecul |first7=V. |last8=Manger |first8=P. |editor2-last=Paulina-Carabajal |editor2-first=A. |editor3-last=Macrini |editor3-first=T. E. |editor4-last=Walsh |editor4-first=S.}}</ref><ref name=Palkopoulou/>
|align=right
|{{clade
|label1=[[Proboscidea]]
|1={{clade
|1=early proboscideans, e.g. ''[[Moeritherium]]'' [[File:Moeritherium NT crop.jpg|70px]]
|2={{clade
   |1=[[Deinotheriidae]] [[File:Deinotherium12.jpg|70px]]
   |label2=[[Elephantiformes]]
   |2={{clade
      |1=[[Mammutidae]] <span style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:BlankMastodon.jpg|70px]]</span>
       |2={{clade
         |1=[[Gomphotheriidae]] <span style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Gomphotherium NT small.jpg|70px]]</span>
         |2={{clade
            |1=[[Stegodontidae]] [[File:Stegodon ganesaDB.jpg|85px]]
            |label2=[[Elephantidae]]
            |2={{clade
            |1={{clade
               |1=''[[Loxodonta]]'' <span style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:African elephant (PSF).png|60px]]</span>
               |2=''[[Palaeoloxodon]]'' [[File:Palaeoloxodon namadicus-bpk.jpg|60px]]
}}
               |2={{clade
                  |1=''[[Mammuthus]]'' [[File:Mammuthus trogontherii122DB.jpg|70px]]
                  |2=''[[Elephas]]'' <span style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Indian elephant (PSF).png|70px]]</span>
                  }}
               }}
            }}
         }}
      }}
   }}
 }}
}}
}}
A major event in proboscidean evolution was the collision of Afro-Arabia with Eurasia, during the Early Miocene, around 18–19 million years ago, allowing proboscideans to disperse from their African homeland across Eurasia and later, around 16–15 million years ago into North America across the [[Beringia|Bering Land Bridge]]. Proboscidean groups prominent during the Miocene include the [[deinothere]]s, along with the more advanced [[Elephantimorpha|elephantimorphs]], including [[Mammutidae|mammutids]] (mastodons), [[gomphothere]]s, [[Amebelodontidae|amebelodontids]] (which includes the "shovel tuskers" like ''[[Platybelodon]]''), [[Choerolophodontidae|choerolophodontids]] and [[Stegodontidae|stegodontids]].<ref name=Cantalapiedra-2021>{{Cite journal |last1=Cantalapiedra |first1=J. L. |last2=Sanisidro |first2=Ó. |last3=Zhang |first3=H. |last4=Alberdi |first4=M. T. |last5=Prado |first5=J. L. |last6=Blanco |first6=F. |last7=Saarinen |first7=J. |date=2021 |title=The rise and fall of proboscidean ecological diversity |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-021-01498-w |journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution |volume=5 |issue=9 |pages=1266–1272 |doi=10.1038/s41559-021-01498-w |pmid=34211141 |bibcode=2021NatEE...5.1266C |s2cid=235712060|hdl=10261/249360 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Around 10 million years ago, the earliest members of the family [[Elephantidae]] emerged in Africa, having originated from gomphotheres.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Saegusa, H. |author2=Nakaya, H. |name-list-style=amp |author3=Kunimatsu, Y. |author4=Nakatsukasa, M. |author5=Tsujikawa, H. |author6=Sawada, Y. |author7=Saneyoshi, M. |author8=Sakai, T. |year=2014 |chapter=Earliest elephantid remains from the late Miocene locality, Nakali, Kenya |page=175 |chapter-url=https://apo.ansto.gov.au/dspace/bitstream/10238/9340/2/icmr_volume_low.pdf#page=188 |editor1=Kostopoulos, D. S. |editor2=Vlachos, E.  |editor3=Tsoukala, E. |title=VIth International Conference on Mammoths and Their Relatives |volume=102 |location=Thessaloniki |publisher=School of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki |isbn=978-960-9502-14-6}}</ref>

Elephantids are distinguished from earlier proboscideans by a major shift in the molar morphology to parallel lophs rather than the cusps of earlier proboscideans, allowing them to become higher-crowned (hypsodont) and more efficient in consuming grass.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lister |first=A. M. |date=2013 |title=The role of behaviour in adaptive morphological evolution of African proboscideans |doi=10.1038/nature12275 |journal=Nature |volume=500 |issue=7462 |pages=331–334 |pmid=23803767 |bibcode=2013Natur.500..331L |s2cid=883007}}</ref> The Late Miocene saw major climactic changes, which resulted in the decline and extinction of many proboscidean groups.<ref name="Cantalapiedra-2021" /> The earliest members of the modern genera of elephants (''Elephas'', ''Loxodonta'') as well as mammoths, appeared in Africa during the latest Miocene–early Pliocene around 7-4 million years ago.<ref>{{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=154, 220 |language=en |doi=10.1201/b20016}}</ref> The elephantid genera ''Elephas'' (which includes the living Asian elephant) and ''Mammuthus'' (mammoths) migrated out of Africa during the late Pliocene, around 3.6 to 3.2 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 |volume=6 |issue=1 |page=16 |doi=10.3390/quat6010016 |doi-access=free |hdl=11573/1680082 |hdl-access=free}}</ref>

Over the course of the [[Early Pleistocene]], all non-elephantid probobscidean genera outside of the Americas became extinct with the exception of ''[[Stegodon]]'',<ref name="Cantalapiedra-2021" /> with gomphotheres dispersing into South America as part of the [[Great American interchange]],<ref name="Mothé et al 2016 (In Press)">{{cite journal |last1=Mothé |first1=Dimila |last2=dos Santos Avilla |first2=Leonardo |last3=Asevedo |first3=Lidiane |last4=Borges-Silva |first4=Leon |last5=Rosas |first5=Mariane |last6=Labarca-Encina |first6=Rafael |last7=Souberlich |first7=Ricardo |last8=Soibelzon |first8=Esteban |last9=Roman-Carrion |first9=José Luis |last10=Ríos |first10=Sergio D. |last11=Rincon |first11=Ascanio D. |last12=Cardoso de Oliveira |first12=Gina |last13=Pereira Lopes |first13=Renato |date=30 September 2016 |title=Sixty years after 'The mastodonts of Brazil': The state of the art of South American proboscideans (Proboscidea, Gomphotheriidae) |url=http://bibdigital.epn.edu.ec/bitstream/15000/17075/1/Moth%c3%a9%20et%20al.%2c%202016%20-%20Sixty%20years%20proboscideans.pdf |journal=Quaternary International |volume=443 |pages=52–64 |bibcode=2017QuInt.443...52M |doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2016.08.028}}</ref> and mammoths migrating into North America around 1.5 million years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lister |first1=A. M. |last2=Sher |first2=A. V. |date=2015 |title=Evolution and dispersal of mammoths across the Northern Hemisphere |journal=Science |volume=350 |issue=6262 |pages=805–809 |bibcode=2015Sci...350..805L |doi=10.1126/science.aac5660 |pmid=26564853 |s2cid=206639522}}</ref> At the end of the Early Pleistocene, around 800,000 years ago the elephantid genus ''[[Palaeoloxodon]]'' dispersed outside of Africa, becoming widely distributed in Eurasia.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lister |first=A. M. |chapter=Ecological Interactions of Elephantids in Pleistocene Eurasia |date=2004 |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264788794 |title=Human Paleoecology in the Levantine Corridor |pages=53–60 |publisher=Oxbow Books |isbn=978-1-78570-965-4}}</ref> Proboscideans were represented by around 23 species at the beginning of the [[Late Pleistocene]]. Proboscideans underwent a dramatic decline during the Late Pleistocene as part of the [[Late Pleistocene extinctions]] of most large mammals globally, with all remaining non-elephantid proboscideans (including ''Stegodon'', [[mastodon]]s, and the American gomphotheres ''[[Cuvieronius]]'' and ''[[Notiomastodon]]'') and ''[[Palaeoloxodon]]'' becoming extinct, with mammoths only surviving in [[Relict (biology)|relict]] populations on islands around the [[Bering Strait]] into the Holocene, with their latest survival being on [[Wrangel Island]], where they persisted until around 4,000 years ago.<ref name=Cantalapiedra-2021/><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rogers |first1=R. L. |last2=Slatkin |first2=M. |date=2017 |title=Excess of genomic defects in a woolly mammoth on Wrangel island |journal=PLOS Genetics |volume=13 |issue=3 |page=e1006601 |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1006601 |issn=1553-7404 |pmc=5333797 |pmid=28253255 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Over the course of their evolution, probobscideans grew in size. With that came longer limbs and wider feet with a more [[digitigrade]] stance, along with a larger head and shorter neck. The trunk evolved and grew longer to provide reach. The number of premolars, incisors, and canines decreased, and the cheek teeth (molars and premolars) became longer and more specialised. The incisors developed into tusks of different shapes and sizes.<ref name=evolution/> Several species of proboscideans became isolated on islands and experienced [[insular dwarfism]],<ref name=Sukumar31>Sukumar, pp. 31–33.</ref> some dramatically reducing in body size, such as the {{Cvt|1|m}} tall [[dwarf elephant]] species ''[[Palaeoloxodon falconeri]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Romano |first1=M. |last2=Manucci |first2=F. |last3=Palombo |first3=M. R. |date=2021 |title=The smallest of the largest: new volumetric body mass estimate and in-vivo restoration of the dwarf elephant Palaeoloxodon ex gr. ''P. falconeri'' from Spinagallo Cave (Sicily) |journal=Historical Biology |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=340–353 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2019.1617289 |bibcode=2021HBio...33..340R |s2cid=181855906}}</ref>

===Living species===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ style="text-align: centre;" |
! Name
! Size
! Appearance 
! Distribution
! Image
|-
| [[African bush elephant]] (''Loxodonta africana'')
| '''Male''': {{cvt|304|-|336|cm|ftin|0|abbr=on}} (shoulder height), {{cvt|5.2|-|6.9|MT|ST|1|abbr=on}} (weight); '''Female''': {{cvt|247|-|273|cm|ftin|0|abbr=on}} (shoulder height), {{cvt|2.6|-|3.5|MT|ST|1|abbr=on}} (weight).<ref name="Larramendi, A. 2015">{{cite journal |author=Larramendi, A. |year=2015 |title=Shoulder height, body mass and shape of proboscideans |journal=Acta Palaeontologica Polonica |doi=10.4202/app.00136.2014 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
| Relatively large and triangular ears, concave back, diamond shaped molar ridges, wrinkled skin, sloping abdomen, and two finger-like extensions at the tip of the trunk.<ref name=Shoshani38>Shoshani, pp. 38–41.</ref>
| [[Sub-Saharan Africa]]; forests, savannahs, deserts, wetlands, and near lakes.<ref name=Shoshani42>Shoshani, pp. 42–51.</ref>
|[[File:African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) male (17289351322).jpg|200px]]
|-
| [[African forest elephant]] (''Loxodonta cyclotis'')
| {{cvt|209|-|231|cm|ftin|0|abbr=on}} (shoulder height), {{cvt|1.7|-|2.3|MT|ST|1|abbr=on}} (weight).<ref name="Larramendi, A. 2015"/> 
| Similar to the bush species, but with smaller and more rounded ears and thinner and straighter tusks.<ref name=Shoshani38/><ref name=Shoshani42 /> 
| [[West Africa|West]] and [[Central Africa]]; [[Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests|equatorial forests]], but occasionally [[gallery forest]]s and forest/grassland [[ecotone]]s.<ref name=Shoshani42 />
|[[File:Loxodontacyclotis.jpg|200px]]
|-
| [[Asian elephant]] (''Elephas maximus'')
| '''Male''': {{cvt|261|-|289|cm|ftin|0|abbr=on}} (shoulder height), {{cvt|3.5|-|4.6|MT|ST|1|abbr=on}} (weight); '''Female''': {{cvt|228|-|252|cm|ftin|0|abbr=on}} (shoulder height), {{cvt|2.3|-|3.1|MT|ST|1|abbr=on}} (weight).<ref name="Larramendi, A. 2015"/>
| Relatively small ears, convex or level back, dish-shaped forehead with two large bumps, narrow molar ridges, smooth skin with some blotches of [[depigmentation]], a straightened or saggy abdomen, and one extension at the tip of the trunk.<ref name=Shoshani38/>
|[[South Asia|South]] and [[Southeast Asia]]; habitats with a mix of grasses, low woody plants, and trees, including dry [[Deccan thorn scrub forests|thorn-scrub forests]] in southern India and Sri Lanka and [[evergreen forest]]s in [[Malay Peninsula|Malaya]].<ref name=Shoshani42/><ref name=Asian>{{cite journal|author1=Shoshani, J.|author2=Eisenberg, J. F.|year=1982|title=''Elephas maximus''|journal=Mammalian Species|issue=182|pages=1–8|url=http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-182-01-0001.pdf|jstor=3504045|doi=10.2307/3504045|access-date=27 October 2012|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924121940/http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-182-01-0001.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|[[File:Elephas maximus (Bandipur).jpg|200px]]
|}