PBDB Taxon

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Elephas (elephant)

Osteichthyes - Proboscidea - Elephantidae

Taxonomy

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

It was assigned to Bruta by Linnaeus (1758), Kerr (1792); to Proboscidea by Illiger (1811); to Pachydermata by Owen (1844); to Proboscidia by Owen (1848); to Elephantina by Gray (1825), 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), 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), Christiansen (2007); and to Elephantini by Shoshani and Tassy (2005), Rohland et al. (2010).

Species

E. (Euelephas), E. (Loxodon), E. beyeri, E. clifti (syn. Stegodon sinensis), E. ekorensis, E. falconeri, E. hysudricus, E. hysudrindicus, E. jolensis (syn. Archidiskodon transvaalensis, Archidiskodon sheppardi, Archidiskodon broomi), E. kiangnanensis, E. maximus (syn. E. asiaticus, E. gigas), E. melitensis, E. moghrebiensis, E. nawataensis, E. planifrons, E. platycephalus, E. priscus

Species lacking formal opinion data

E. indicus, E. primigenius, E. trogontherii

Synonyms

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).

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
1758	Elephas Linnaeus p. 33
1792	Elephas Kerr
1795	Elephantus Geoffroy and Cuvier p. 189
1811	Elephas Illiger
1825	Elephas Gray p. 342
1844	Elephas Owen p. 208
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
1902	Elephas Hay p. 712
1924	Pilgrimia Osborn p. 2
1924	Sivalikia Osborn p. 2
1927	Leithadamsia Matsumoto p. 214
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 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.
2005	Elephas 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

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

Rank	Name	Author
—	Mammaliamorpha
—	Mammaliaformes
class	Mammalia
—	Cladotheria
—	Zatheria
subclass	Tribosphenida	()
subclass	Theria
—	Eutheria	()
—	Placentalia
superorder	Afrotheria
—	Paenungulatomorpha
superorder	Paenungulata
—	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]

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Subg. †Elephas (Euelephas) Leidy 1858

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 hysudricus Falconer and Cautley 1875

†Elephas hysudrindicus Dubois 1908

†Elephas jolensis Pomel 1895

Invalid names: Archidiskodon broomi Osborn 1928 [synonym], Archidiskodon sheppardi Dart 1927 [synonym], Archidiskodon transvaalensis Dart 1927 [synonym]

†Elephas kiangnanensis Pei 1987

Elephas maximus Linnaeus 1758 [Asian elephant]

Elephas maximus hirsutus Lydekker 1914 [Malaysian elephant]

Elephas maximus indicus Cuvier 1798

Elephas maximus maximus Linnaeus 1758 [Sri Lankan elephant]

Elephas maximus sumatranus Temminck 1847 [Sumatran elephant]

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 platycephalus Osborn 1929

†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], Omoloxodon Deraniyagala 1955 [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: Hendy et al. 2009, Nowak 1991, Lillegraven 1979, Ji et al. 2002, 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 (110 total)

Time interval	Ma	Country or state	Original ID and collection number
Neogene	23.04 - 2.58	Taiwan	Elephas sp. (76865) Stegodon sinensis (76863)
Neogene	23.04 - 2.58	Taiwan (Tainan)	Elephas sp. (76866)
Neogene	23.04 - 2.58	Taiwan (Taichung)	Stegodon sinensis (76862)
Neogene	23.04 - 2.58	Myanmar	Elephas clifti (215569)
Late/Upper Miocene	11.63 - 5.333	Thailand (Nakhon Ratchasima)	Elephas sp. (144187)
Baodean	11.1 - 5.09	China (Yunnan)	Elephas sp. (183982)
Messinian - Zanclean	7.246 - 3.6	Kenya	Elephas nawataensis (22242)
Early/Lower Pliocene	5.333 - 3.6	Tanzania	Elephas ekorensis (22046)
Early/Lower Pliocene	5.333 - 3.6	Kenya	Elephas ekorensis (232486)
Zanclean	5.333 - 3.6	Ethiopia	Elephas sp. (22133)
Zanclean	5.333 - 3.6	Kenya	Elephas ekorensis (22234) Elephas sp. (22338)
Zanclean	5.333 - 3.6	Kenya (Turkana District)	Elephas ekorensis (21335 21336)
Pliocene	5.333 - 2.58	Italy	Elephas planifrons (96770)
Pliocene	5.333 - 2.58	Ethiopia	Archidiskodon indet. (21754 21755) Elephas ekorensis (21753)
Zanclean - Piacenzian	5.333 - 2.58	Kenya	Elephas ekorensis (22235)
Pliocene - Pleistocene	5.333 - 0.0117	Malawi	Elephas ekorensis (22323)
Pliocene - Pleistocene	5.333 - 0.0117	Ethiopia	Elephas sp. (153775)
Pliocene - Pleistocene	5.333 - 0.0117	Nepal	Elephas planifrons (36574)
Ruscinian	5.09 - 3.55	China (Shanxi)	Elephas sp. (42477)
Late/Upper Pliocene	3.6 - 2.58	India (Panjab)	Elephas planifrons (51104) Elephas planifrons, Elephas hysudricus, Elephas platycephalus (51106)
Late/Upper Pliocene	3.6 - 2.58	India (Jammu)	Elephas planifrons, Elephas hysudricus (51101 51102)
Late/Upper Pliocene	3.6 - 2.58	Pakistan (Jhelem, Punjab)	Elephas planifrons (13448)
Late/Upper Pliocene	3.6 - 2.58	Morocco	Elephas sp. (32052)
Late/Upper Pliocene	3.6 - 2.58	Russian Federation	Elephas planifrons (76530)
Late/Upper Pliocene	3.6 - 2.58	Ukraine (Donetsk)	Elephas sp., Elephas planifrons (76533)
Piacenzian	3.6 - 2.58	Ethiopia	Elephas ekorensis (21758 21759 21783 21785)
Piacenzian	3.6 - 2.58	Russian Federation (Chechnya)	Elephas planifrons (76525)
Late/Upper Pliocene - Early/Lower Pleistocene	3.6 - 0.774	India (Punjab)	Elephas sp. (236047)
Late/Upper Pliocene - Early/Lower Pleistocene	3.6 - 0.774	Myanmar	Hypselephas hysudricus (41265 201705)
Late/Upper Pliocene - Late/Upper Pleistocene	3.6 - 0.0117	Uganda	Mammuthus transvaalensis (22178)
Piacenzian - Pleistocene	3.6 - 0.0117	Kenya	Elephas ekorensis (22238)
Gelasian	2.58 - 1.8	Azerbaijan	Elephas planifrons (76529)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.774	Türkiye	Mammuthus planifrons (39321)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.774	India	Elephas maximus (13453)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.774	South Africa	Elephas sp. (21824)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.774	China	Elephas sp. (51471)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.774	Algeria	Elephas sp. (69723)
Early/Lower Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.774	Indonesia	Elephas hysundrindicus (93522)
Gelasian - Calabrian	2.58 - 0.774	Kenya	Elephas recki atavus, Elephas recki ileretensis (21367)
Early/Lower Pleistocene - Late/Upper Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.0117	Italy (Sicily)	Elephas falconeri (94328)
Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.0117	Italy (Sicily)	Elephas falconeri (92437)
Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.0117	USA (Texas)	Elephas sp. (207372 207402 207406 207418 207425 207447 207454 207455 207456 207483) Proboscidea indet. (207446)
Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.0117	Israel	Elephas sp. (34043 39252)
Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.0117	India	Elephas namadicus/maximus, Elephas sp., Elephas hysudricus (237977) Elephas sp. (238019) Elephas sp., Elephas hysudricus (237975 238017 238018)
Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.0117	India (Meghalaya)	Elephas hysudricus (238024)
Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.0117	India (Madras)	Hypselephas hysudricus (13487)
Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.0117	Malta	Elephas melitensis, Elephas falconeri (190860)
Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.0117	Sri Lanka	Elephas maximus, Elephas hysudricus (238030)
Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.0117	Philippines	Elephas beyeri (94613)
Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.0117	South Africa	Elephas sp. (21828)
Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.0117	Morocco	Elephas iolensis (34332)
Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.0117	India (Assam)	Elephas maximus (238023)
Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.0117	India (Uttar Pradesh)	Elephas sp. (237974)
Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.0117	Kenya	Elephas sp. (21837 21838 21843 38040)
Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.0117	China (Shaanxi)	Elephas sp. (37203)
Pleistocene	2.58 - 0.0117	USA (New York)	Elephas sp. (222862)
Pleistocene - Holocene	2.58 - 0.0	Morocco	Elephas sp. (21856)
Pleistocene - Holocene	2.58 - 0.0	South Africa	Archidiskodon broomi (21711)
Calabrian	1.8 - 0.774	Kenya	Elephas sp. (21833)
Middle Pleistocene	0.774 - 0.129	Italy (Vicenza)	Elephas sp. (43666)
Middle Pleistocene	0.774 - 0.129	Taiwan (Tainan)	Stegodon sinensis, Elephas hysudricus (76844)
Middle Pleistocene	0.774 - 0.129	Italy (Verona)	Elephas sp. (43650 43664)
Middle Pleistocene	0.774 - 0.129	Italy (Trieste)	Elephas sp. (40808)
Middle Pleistocene	0.774 - 0.129	Thailand (Chaiyaphum)	Elephas maximus (237787)
Middle Pleistocene	0.774 - 0.129	Spain (Soria)	Elephas sp. (73757 73761)
Middle Pleistocene	0.774 - 0.129	Germany (Baden-Wuerttemberg)	Elephas sp. (50259)
Middle Pleistocene	0.774 - 0.129	Laos (Hua Pan)	Elephas sp. (235746)
Middle Pleistocene	0.774 - 0.129	China (Guizhou)	Elephas sp. (51100)
Middle Pleistocene	0.774 - 0.129	Indonesia (Sulawesi)	Elephas sp. (93636)
Middle Pleistocene	0.774 - 0.129	Thailand (Nakhon Ratchasima)	Elephas sp. (143885)
Middle Pleistocene - Late/Upper Pleistocene	0.774 - 0.0117	Kenya	Elephas sp. (22272)
Middle Pleistocene - Late/Upper Pleistocene	0.774 - 0.0117	China (Guangxi)	Elephas maximus (235737)
Middle Pleistocene - Late/Upper Pleistocene	0.774 - 0.0117	Italy (Verona)	Elephas sp. (43657)
Middle Pleistocene - Late/Upper Pleistocene	0.774 - 0.0117	China (Guangdong)	Elephas kiangnanensis (13293)
Late/Upper Pleistocene	0.129 - 0.0117	Mexico (Mexico)	Elephas sp. (227228)
Late/Upper Pleistocene	0.129 - 0.0117	Indonesia	Elephas hysudrindicus (93523) Elephas maximus (93524)
Late/Upper Pleistocene	0.129 - 0.0117	India	Elephas sp., Elephas indicus (224310)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Malaysia (Negeri Sembilan)	Elephas maximus (238277)