In living proboscides the tusks are formed from the second upper incisors. Canine teeth are typically absent or greatly reduced throughout the Proboscides. The largest on record was a bull standing 4 m tall with an estimated weight of 9,000 kg. The tusks appear on both sexes. In Loxodonta the trunk has a corrugated surface and ends in two finger like projections, and the ears are huge, frequently 1 m across.
Elephants are totally herbivorous, eating grasses, leaves, and the bark of trees.
During droughts Loxodonta obtains some water from the spongy tissues of the baobab tree.