PBDB Taxon

Basic info	Taxonomic history	Classification	Included Taxa
Morphology	Ecology and taphonomy	External Literature Search	Age range and collections

Elephas (elephant)

Mammalia - Proboscidea - Elephantidae

Taxonomy

Elephas was named by Linnaeus (1758). It is extant. Its type is Elephas maximus. It is the type genus of Elephantidae, Elephantinae, Elephantini.

It was assigned to Bruta by Linnaeus (1758); to Proboscidia by Owen (1848); to Elephantina by Gray (1825) and Nordmann (1860); to Pachydermata by Leidy (1860); to Proboscidea by Leidy (1873); to Elephantina by McKenna and Bell (1997); to Elephantinae by Maglio (1970), Maglio (1973), Shoshani and Tassy (1996) and Rogaev et al. (2006); to Elephantidae by Lydekker (1880), Cope (1889), Hay (1902), Thurmond and Jones (1981), Carroll (1988), Kalb and Frohelich (1995), Capasso Barbato and Gliozzi (1995), Barriel et al. (1999), Wilson and Reeder (2005) and Christiansen (2007); and to Elephantini by Shoshani and Tassy (2005) and Rohland et al. (2010).

Species lacking formal opinion data

E. iolensis, E. kiangnanensis

Synonyms

Palaeoloxodon was named by Matsumoto (1924).

It was reranked as Loxodonta (Palaeoloxodon) by Matsumoto (1929); it was reranked as Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) by Capasso Barbato and Gliozzi (1995), Palombo (2001) and Palombo (2005); it was synonymized subjectively with Elephas by Shoshani and Eisenberg (1982), Shoshani and Tassy (1996) and Christiansen (2007).

It was assigned to Loxodonta by Matsumoto (1929); to Elephantini by Shoshani and Tassy (2005); and to Elephas by Capasso Barbato and Gliozzi (1995), Palombo (2001) and Palombo (2005).
Elephantus was named by Geoffroy and Cuvier (1795). It is extant.

It was synonymized objectively with Elephas by Shoshani and Eisenberg (1982).
Pilgrimia was named by Osborn (1924). It is not extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Elephas by Shoshani and Eisenberg (1982).
Sivalikia was named by Osborn (1924). It is not extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Elephas by Shoshani and Eisenberg (1982).
Leithadamsia was named by Matsumoto (1927) [spelt Leith-Adamsia by Matsumoto]. It is not extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Elephas by Shoshani and Eisenberg (1982).
Hesperoloxodon was named by Osborn (1931). It is not extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Elephas by Shoshani and Eisenberg (1982).
Platelephas was named by Osborn (1942). It is not extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Elephas by Shoshani and Eisenberg (1982).
Hypselephas was named by Osborn (1942). It is not extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Elephas by Shoshani and Eisenberg (1982).
Stegoloxodon was named by Kretzoi (1950). It is not extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Elephas by Shoshani and Eisenberg (1982).
Omoloxodon was named by Deraniyagala (1955). It is not extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Elephas by Shoshani and Eisenberg (1982).
Mastodon elephantoides was named by Clift (1829). It is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Left Bank of Irawadi River, which is in a Neogene terrestrial gravel/sandstone in Myanmar.

It was considered a nomen dubium by Lydekker (1880); it was recombined as Emmenodon elephantoides by Cope (1889).

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
1758	Elephas Linnaeus p. 33
1795	Elephantus Geoffroy and Cuvier p. 189
1825	Elephas Gray p. 342
1829	Mastodon elephantoides Clift
1848	Elephas Owen p. 139
1860	Elephas Leidy p. 108
1860	Elephas Nordmann p. 271
1873	Elephas Leidy p. 329
1880	Elephas Lydekker
1889	Elephas Cope p. 194
1889	Emmenodon elephantoides Cope p. 194
1902	Elephas Hay p. 712
1924	Palaeoloxodon Matsumoto p. 257
1924	Pilgrimia Osborn p. 2
1924	Sivalikia Osborn p. 2
1927	Leithadamsia Matsumoto p. 214
1929	Loxodonta (Palaeoloxodon) Matsumoto p. 1
1931	Hesperoloxodon Osborn p. 21
1942	Hypselephas Osborn p. 1340
1942	Platelephas Osborn p. 1358
1950	Stegoloxodon Kretzoi p. 405
1955	Omoloxodon Deraniyagala p. 25
1970	Elephas Maglio p. 12
1973	Elephas Maglio
1981	Elephas Thurmond and Jones p. 181
1988	Elephas Carroll
1995	Elephas Capasso Barbato and Gliozzi p. 244
1995	Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) Capasso Barbato and Gliozzi p. 244
1995	Elephas Kalb and Frohelich p. 732 figs. Figure 2
1996	Elephas Shoshani and Tassy p. 352
1997	Elephas McKenna and Bell p. 504
1999	Elephas Barriel et al.
2001	Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) Palombo p. 487
2005	Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) Palombo p. 107
2005	Elephas Shoshani and Tassy p. 10 figs. Table 2
2005	Palaeoloxodon Shoshani and Tassy p. 10 figs. Table 2
2005	Elephas Wilson and Reeder
2006	Elephas Rogaev et al.
2007	Elephas Christiansen p. 428
2010	Elephas Rohland et al. p. 6

Is something missing? Join the Paleobiology Database and enter the data

Rank	Name	Author
kingdom	Animalia	()
—	Bilateria
—	Eubilateria	Ax 1987
—	Deuterostomia
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1874
subphylum	Vertebrata
superclass	Gnathostomata
—	Osteichthyes	()
subclass	Sarcopterygii	()
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha	(Nelson 2006)
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha	()
—	Tetrapoda
—	Reptiliomorpha
—	Anthracosauria
subclass	Amphibiosauria	Kuhn 1967
—	Cotylosauria	()
—	Amniota
subclass	Synapsida
—	Therapsida	()

Rank	Name	Author
infraorder	Cynodontia	()
—	Mammaliamorpha
—	Mammaliaformes
class	Mammalia
—	Cladotheria
—	Zatheria
subclass	Tribosphenida	()
subclass	Theria
—	Eutheria	()
—	Placentalia
—	Afrotheria	Stanhope et al. 1998
—	Tethytheria
order	Proboscidea	()
suborder	Elephantiformes	Tassy 1988
superfamily	Elephantoidea
family	Elephantidae
subfamily	Elephantinae	Gray 1821
tribe	Elephantini	Gray 1821
genus	Elephas

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. Elephas Linnaeus 1758 [elephant]

show all | hide all

Subg. †Elephas (Euelephas) Leidy 1858

†Elephas (Euelephas) hysudricus Falconer and Cautley 1875

†Elephas (Euelephas) namadicus Falconer 1846

Subg. Elephas (Loxodon) Müller and Henle 1838

†Elephas beyeri von Koenigswald 1956

†Elephas clifti Falconer 1857

Invalid names: Stegodon sinensis Owen 1870 [synonym]

†Elephas ekorensis Maglio 1970

†Elephas falconeri Busk 1867

Elephas maximus Linnaeus 1758 [Asian elephant]

Elephas maximus indicus Cuvier 1798

Elephas maximus maximus Linnaeus 1758

Elephas maximus sumatranus Temminck 1847

Invalid names: Elephas asiaticus Blumenbach 1797 [synonym], Elephas gigas Perry 1811 [synonym]

†Elephas melitensis Falconer 1868

†Elephas moghrebiensis Arambourg 1970

†Elephas nawataensis Tassy 2003

†Elephas planifrons Falconer and Cautley 1846

†Elephas priscus Goldfuss 1821

Invalid names: Elephantus Geoffroy and Cuvier 1795 [objective synonym], Hesperoloxodon Osborn 1931 [synonym], Hypselephas Osborn 1942 [synonym], Leithadamsia Matsumoto 1927 [synonym], Mastodon elephantoides Clift 1829 [nomen dubium], Omoloxodon Deraniyagala 1955 [synonym], Palaeoloxodon Matsumoto 1924 [synonym], Pilgrimia Osborn 1924 [synonym], Platelephas Osborn 1942 [synonym], Sivalikia Osborn 1924 [synonym], Stegoloxodon Kretzoi 1950 [synonym]

Diagnosis

No diagnoses are available

Body mass estimates

estimate	equation	reference
3.99 tons	Mammalia femur circumference	Anderson et al. 1985

Measurements

part	N	mean
femur circumference	1	304.8

Composition:

phosphaticsubp

Environment:

terrestrialsubc

Locomotion:

actively mobilec

Life habit:

ground dwellingf

Diet:

grazerf

Diet 2:

browserf

Reproduction:

viviparoussubc

Created:

2005-06-08 10:11:09

Modified:

2005-08-22 20:09:03

Source: f = family, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum

References: Ji et al. 2002, Nowak 1991, Lillegraven 1979, Hendy et al. 2009, Carroll 1988

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Messinian to the top of the Holocene or 7.24600 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 5.333 Ma

Collections (459 total)

Time interval	Ma	Country or state	Original ID and collection number
Oldest occurrences
Neogene	23.03 - 2.58	Taiwan	Elephas sp. (76865) Stegodon sinensis (76863)
Neogene	23.03 - 2.58	Taiwan (Taichung)	Stegodon sinensis (76862)
Neogene	23.03 - 2.58	Myanmar	Mastodon elephantoides, Elephas clifti (215569)
Neogene	23.03 - 2.58	Taiwan (Tainan)	Elephas sp. (76866)
Late/Upper Miocene	11.608 - 5.333	Thailand (Nakhon Ratchasima)	Elephas sp. (144187)
Baodean	11.1 - 4.9	China (Yunnan)	Elephas sp. (183982)
Messinian - Zanclean	7.246 - 3.6	Kenya	Elephas nawataensis (22242)
Early/Lower Pliocene	5.333 - 3.6	Kenya	Elephas ekorensis (232486)
Early/Lower Pliocene	5.333 - 3.6	Ethiopia	Elephas recki (22135)
Early/Lower Pliocene	5.333 - 3.6	Tanzania	Elephas ekorensis (22046)
Zanclean	5.333 - 3.6	Kenya (Turkana District)	Elephas ekorensis (21335 21336)
Zanclean	5.333 - 3.6	Kenya	Elephas ekorensis (22234) Elephas sp. (22338)
Zanclean	5.333 - 3.6	Ethiopia	Elephas recki (21737 22132 22137 22174 22176) Elephas sp. (22133)
Ruscinian	5.333 - 3.2	China (Shanxi)	Elephas sp. (42477)
Pliocene	5.333 - 2.588	Kenya	Elephas recki (22321)
Pliocene	5.333 - 2.588	Ethiopia	Archidiskodon indet. (21754 21755) Elephas ekorensis (21753) Elephas recki (21616)
Pliocene	5.333 - 2.588	Ethiopia (Afar)	Elephas recki (70907)
Pliocene	5.333 - 2.588	Malawi	Elephas recki (22559)
Pliocene	5.333 - 2.588	Italy	Elephas planifrons (96770)
Zanclean - Piacenzian	5.333 - 2.588	Kenya	Elephas ekorensis (22235)