Elephantidae
Encyclopedia
Elephantidae is a taxonomic family
, collectively elephant
s and mammoth
s. These are terrestrial
large mammal
s with a trunk and tusk
s. Most genera
and species
in the family are extinct
. Only two genera, Loxodonta
(African elephants) and Elephas
(Asiatic elephants), are living.
The family was first described by John Edward Gray
in 1821, and later assigned to taxonomic ranks within the order of Proboscidea. Elephantidae has also been revised by various authors to include or exclude other extinct proboscidean genera.
The family diverged from a common ancestor of the Mammutidae
, which includes species termed as mastodon
s. The author of Mammutidae also published Gomphotheriidae, more closely related to Elephantidae, which also includes species previously described as Mastodon. The classification of proboscideans is unstable and frequently revised, some relationships within the order remain unclear, and it is incompletely summarised as:
The genera †Anancus
, †Tetralophodon
, †Stegomastodon
, †Paratetralophodon
and †Cuvieronius
are placed by some authors within the Elephantidae, while others give a treatment as Gomphotheriidae. Similarly, Stegodon and
Stegolophodon have sometimes been placed in Stegodontidae
.
The systematics of the living subspecies and species, the modern elephants, has undergone several revisions. A list of extant Elephantidae, excluding the extinct species of the two genera, includes:
Scientific classification of Elephantidae taxa embraces an extensive record of fossil specimens, over millions of years, some of which existed until the end of the last ice age. Some species were extirpated more recently. The discovery of new specimens and proposed cladistics
have resulted in systematic revisions of the family and related proboscideans.
Elephantidae are classified informally as the elephant family, or in a paleobiological context as elephants and mammoths. The common name
elephant
primarily refers to the living taxa, the modern elephants, but may also refer to a variety of extinct species, in this family and others (see Elephant (disambiguation)
). Other members of Elaphantidae, especially members of Mammuthus, are referred to by the common name mammoth
.
Although the fossil evidence is uncertain, by comparing genes scientists discovered evidence that Elephantidae and other proboscideans share a distant ancestry with Sirenia
(sea cows) and Hyracoidea (hyraxes). These have been assigned with the demostylians to the clade Paenungulata
. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One hypothesis is that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km (31.1 mi).
In the past, there was a much wider variety of genera, including the mammoth
s and stegodon
s. There was also a much wider variety of species.
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
, collectively elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s and mammoth
Mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair...
s. These are terrestrial
Terrestrial animal
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...
large mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s with a trunk and tusk
Tusk
Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth, usually but not always in pairs, that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canines, as with warthogs, wild boar, and walruses, or, in the case of elephants and narwhals, elongated incisors...
s. Most genera
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
and species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
in the family are extinct
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
. Only two genera, Loxodonta
Loxodonta
African elephants are the species of elephants in the genus Loxodonta , one of the two existing genera in Elephantidae. Although it is commonly believed that the genus was named by Georges Cuvier in 1825, Cuvier spelled it Loxodonte...
(African elephants) and Elephas
Elephas
Elephas is one of two surviving genera in the order of elephants, Proboscidea. The genus has one surviving species, the Asian elephant Elephas maximus....
(Asiatic elephants), are living.
The family was first described by John Edward Gray
John Edward Gray
John Edward Gray, FRS was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray ....
in 1821, and later assigned to taxonomic ranks within the order of Proboscidea. Elephantidae has also been revised by various authors to include or exclude other extinct proboscidean genera.
Classification
The family diverged from a common ancestor of the Mammutidae
Mammutidae
Mammutidae is a family of extinct proboscideans that lived between the Miocene to the Pleistocene or Holocene. The family was first described in 1922, classifying fossil specimens of the type genus Mammut , and has since been placed in various arrangements of the order...
, which includes species termed as mastodon
Mastodon
Mastodons were large tusked mammal species of the extinct genus Mammut which inhabited Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Central America from the Oligocene through Pleistocene, 33.9 mya to 11,000 years ago. The American mastodon is the most recent and best known species of the group...
s. The author of Mammutidae also published Gomphotheriidae, more closely related to Elephantidae, which also includes species previously described as Mastodon. The classification of proboscideans is unstable and frequently revised, some relationships within the order remain unclear, and it is incompletely summarised as:
- Elephantimorpha (ProboscideaProboscideaProboscidea is a taxonomic order containing one living family, Elephantidae, and several extinct families. This order was first described by J. Illiger in 1881 and encompasses the trunked mammals...
)- Elephantida
- Elephantidae (elephants and mammoths)
- †ExtinctionIn biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
PrimelephasPrimelephasPrimelephas is a genus of Elephantidae that existed during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs. The name of the genus suggests 'first elephant'... - LoxodontaLoxodontaAfrican elephants are the species of elephants in the genus Loxodonta , one of the two existing genera in Elephantidae. Although it is commonly believed that the genus was named by Georges Cuvier in 1825, Cuvier spelled it Loxodonte...
- ElephasElephasElephas is one of two surviving genera in the order of elephants, Proboscidea. The genus has one surviving species, the Asian elephant Elephas maximus....
- †Mammuthus
- †StegodonStegodonStegodon , is a genus of the extinct subfamily Stegodontinae of the order Proboscidea. It was assigned to the family Elephantidae , but has also been placed in Stegodontidae . Stegodonts were present from 11.6 mya to 4,100 years ago...
- †StegolophodonStegolophodonStegolophodon is an extinct genus of proboscidean. Stegolophodon was a gomphothere with four tusks and a trunk. It lived in the Miocene and Pliocene Epochs, and may have evolved into Stegodon....
- †StegotetrabelodonStegotetrabelodonStegotetrabelodon is an extinct genus of elephant or gomphothere from the Miocene.-References:*Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age by Adrian Lister; Paul G. Bahn*Classification of Mammals by Malcolm C. McKenna and Susan K. Bell...
- †Stegodibelodon
- †
- †Gomphotheriidae (Gomphothere)
- Elephantidae (elephants and mammoths)
- †Mammutida
- †MammutidaeMammutidaeMammutidae is a family of extinct proboscideans that lived between the Miocene to the Pleistocene or Holocene. The family was first described in 1922, classifying fossil specimens of the type genus Mammut , and has since been placed in various arrangements of the order...
(mastodons)- Mammut
- ZygolophodonZygolophodonZygolophodon is an extinct genus of African, Asian, North American, and European mastodon that lived during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs. It may have evolved from Tetralophodon. While collecting fossils in the Clarno Formation of Oregon during 1941, noted paleobotanists Alonzo W. Hancock and...
- incertae sedisIncertae sedis, is a term used to define a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Uncertainty at specific taxonomic levels is attributed by , , and similar terms.-Examples:*The fossil plant Paradinandra suecica could not be assigned to any...
- Eritreum
- †Mammutidae
- Elephantida
The genera †Anancus
Anancus
Anancus is an extinct genus of gomphothere endemic to Africa, Europe, and Asia, that lived during the Turolian age of the late Miocene to early Pleistocene, roughly from 3—1.5 million years ago....
, †Tetralophodon
Tetralophodon
Tetralophodon is an extinct gomphothere genus . Like typical gomphotheres, Tetralophodon had four tusks and a trunk. This genus of animals stood about ten feet tall and was a very widespread and successful proboscidean. Tetralophodon lived through the Miocene and Pliocene epoches...
, †Stegomastodon
Stegomastodon
Stegomastodon is an extinct genus of gomphothere, a family of proboscideans. It is not to be confused with the genus Mammut from a different proboscidean family, whose members are commonly called "mastodons", nor with the genus Stegodon, from yet another proboscidean sub-family, whose members are...
, †Paratetralophodon
Paratetralophodon
Paratetralophodon is an extinct genus of gomphothere. Paratetralophodon may be an ancestor of Tetralophodon. The elephant-like animal lived through the Miocene and Pliocene epochs. It had four tusks and a trunk....
and †Cuvieronius
Cuvieronius
Cuvieronius is an extinct New World genus of gomphothere. It is named after the French naturalist Georges Cuvier, stood 2.7 m tall and looked like a modern elephant except for its spiral-shaped tusks.-Origin:...
are placed by some authors within the Elephantidae, while others give a treatment as Gomphotheriidae. Similarly, Stegodon and
Stegolophodon have sometimes been placed in Stegodontidae
Stegodontidae
Stegodontidae is an extinct family of proboscideans that lived from the Miocene through Pleistocene period endemic to Africa and Asia from 23.03 to 1.810 Ma, living for approximately .-Taxonomy:...
.
The systematics of the living subspecies and species, the modern elephants, has undergone several revisions. A list of extant Elephantidae, excluding the extinct species of the two genera, includes:
- Elephantidae
- ElephasElephasElephas is one of two surviving genera in the order of elephants, Proboscidea. The genus has one surviving species, the Asian elephant Elephas maximus....
(Asiatic)- Elephas maximus Asian Elephant
- Elephas maximus maximusSri Lankan ElephantThe Sri Lankan Elephant is one of three recognized subspecies of the Asian Elephant, and native to Sri Lanka. Since 1986, Elephas maximus has been listed as endangered by IUCN as the population has declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be 60–75 years...
Sri Lankan Elephant - Elephas maximus borneensisBorneo ElephantThe Borneo Elephant also called the Borneo Pygmy Elephant inhabits northeastern Borneo. Its origin remains the subject of debate. A definitive subspecific classification as Elephas maximus borneensis awaits a detailed range-wide morphometric and genetic study...
Borneo Elephant - Elephas maximus indicus Indian Elephant
- Elephas maximus sumatranus Sumatran Elephant
- Elephas maximus maximus
- Elephas maximus Asian Elephant
- Elephas
-
- LoxodontaLoxodontaAfrican elephants are the species of elephants in the genus Loxodonta , one of the two existing genera in Elephantidae. Although it is commonly believed that the genus was named by Georges Cuvier in 1825, Cuvier spelled it Loxodonte...
(African)- Loxodonta africana Bush Elephant
- Loxodonta cyclotis Forest Elephant
- Loxodonta
Cladistics
Cladistics is a method of classifying species of organisms into groups called clades, which consist of an ancestor organism and all its descendants . For example, birds, dinosaurs, crocodiles, and all descendants of their most recent common ancestor form a clade...
have resulted in systematic revisions of the family and related proboscideans.
Elephantidae are classified informally as the elephant family, or in a paleobiological context as elephants and mammoths. The common name
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
primarily refers to the living taxa, the modern elephants, but may also refer to a variety of extinct species, in this family and others (see Elephant (disambiguation)
Elephant (disambiguation)
An elephant is a large, grey mammal native to Africa and southern Asia.Elephant may also refer to:Films* Elephant , a film by Alan Clarke set in Northern Ireland...
). Other members of Elaphantidae, especially members of Mammuthus, are referred to by the common name mammoth
Mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair...
.
Evolutionary history
Sirenia
Sirenia is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit swamps, rivers, estuaries, marine wetlands, and coastal marine waters. Four species are living, in two families and genera. These are the dugong and manatees...
(sea cows) and Hyracoidea (hyraxes). These have been assigned with the demostylians to the clade Paenungulata
Paenungulata
Paenungulata is a taxon that groups some remarkable mammals, including three orders that are extant: Proboscidea , Sirenia , and Hyracoidea . At least two more orders are known only as fossils, namely Embrithopoda and Desmostylia...
. In the distant past, members of the hyrax family grew to large sizes, and it seems likely that the common ancestor of all three modern families was some kind of amphibious hyracoid. One hypothesis is that these animals spent most of their time under water, using their trunks like snorkels for breathing. Modern elephants have this ability and are known to swim in that manner for up to 6 hours and 50 km (31.1 mi).
In the past, there was a much wider variety of genera, including the mammoth
Mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair...
s and stegodon
Stegodon
Stegodon , is a genus of the extinct subfamily Stegodontinae of the order Proboscidea. It was assigned to the family Elephantidae , but has also been placed in Stegodontidae . Stegodonts were present from 11.6 mya to 4,100 years ago...
s. There was also a much wider variety of species.