African elephant

disambiguation).

**African elephants** are members of the genus ***Loxodonta***comprising two living elephant species, the African bush elephant (*L. africana*) and the smaller African forest elephant (*L. cyclotis*). Both are social herbivores with grey skin, but differ in the size and colour of their tusks and in the shape and size of their ears and skulls.

Both species are considered at heavy risk of extinction on the IUCN Red List; as of 2021, the bush elephant is considered endangeredand the forest elephant is considered critically endangered. They are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, and poaching for the illegal ivory trade is a threat in several range countries as well.

*Loxodonta* is one of two extant genera of the family Elephantidae. The name refers to the lozenge-shaped enamel of their molar teeth. Fossil remains of *Loxodonta* species have been excavated in Africa, dating to the Middle Pliocene.

## Taxonomy[edit]

link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Loxodonta\_africana-cyclotis\_skulls\_PZSL.png|thumb|Comparison of bush (left) and forest (right) elephant skulls in frontal view. Note the shorter and wider head of *L. cyclotis*, with a concave instead of convex forehead.
link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:African\_bush\_elephant\_skeleton.jpg|thumb|A female African bush elephant skeleton on display at the Museum of Osteology, Oklahoma City
The first scientific description of the African elephant was written in 1797 by Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, who proposed the scientific name *Elephas africanus*. *Loxodonte* was proposed as a genericname for the African elephant by Frédéric Cuvier in 1825. This name refers to the lozenge-shaped enamel of the molar teeth, which differs significantly from the rounded shape of the Asian elephant's molar enamel. An anonymous author used the Latinized spelling *Loxodonta* in 1827. Anonymous was recognized as authority by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature in 1999.

*Elephas* (*Loxodonta*) *cyclotis* was proposed by Paul Matschie in 1900, who described three African elephant zoological specimensfrom Cameroon whose skulls differed in shape from elephant skulls collected elsewhere in Africa. In 1936, Glover Morrill Allenconsidered this elephant to be a distinct species and called it 'forest elephant'; later authors considered it to be a subspecies.Morphological and genetic analyses have since provided evidence for species-level differences between the African bush elephant and the African forest elephant.

In 1907, Richard Lydekker proposed six African elephant subspecies based on the different sizes and shapes of their ears. They are all considered synonymous with the African bush elephant.

A third species, the West African elephant, has also been proposed but it needs confirmation. It is thought that this lineage has been isolated from the others for 2.4 million years.

### Extinct African elephants[edit]

Between the late 18th and 21st centuries, the following extinct African elephants were described on the basis of fossil remains:

* North African elephant († *Loxodonta africana pharaohensis*) proposed by Paulus Edward Pieris Deraniyagala in 1948 was a specimen from Fayum in Egypt.
* † *Loxodonta atlantica* was proposed as *Elephas atlanticus* by Auguste Pomel in 1879 based on a skull and bones found in Ternifine, Algeria.
* † *Loxodonta exoptata* proposed by Wilhelm Otto Dietrich in 1941 was based on teeth found in Laetoli, Tanzania.
* † *Loxodonta adaurora* proposed by Vincent Maglio in 1970 was a complete skeleton found in Kanapoi, Kenya.
* † *Loxodonta cookei* proposed by William J. Sanders in 2007 based on teeth found in the Varswater Formation at Langebaanweg, South Africa.

### Phylogeny[edit]

Analysis of nuclear DNA sequences indicates that the genetic divergence between African bush and forest elephants dates 2.6 – 5.6 million years ago. The divergence between the Asian elephant and the woolly mammoths is estimated 2.5 – 5.4 million years ago, which strongly supports their status as distinct species. The African forest elephant was found to have a high degree of genetic diversity, perhaps reflecting periodic fragmentation of their habitat during the climatic changes in the Pleistocene.

Gene flow between the two African elephant species was examined at 21 locations. The analysis revealed that several African bush elephants carried mitochondrial DNA of African forest elephants, indicating they hybridised in the savanna-forest transition zone in ancient times.

DNA from the European straight-tusked elephant (*Palaeoloxodon antiquus*) indicates that the extinct elephant genus *Palaeoloxodon* is closely related to African elephants, and also hybridised with them, with the mitochondrial genome and over 30% of the nuclear genome of *P. antiquus* deriving from African forest elephants, with this ancestry being closer to modern west African populations than to central African populations of forest elephants.

## Description[edit]

link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Elephant\_Bull\_Eyebrow\_2019-07-27.jpg|thumb|Short tactile hair growing on the trunk

### Skin, ears, and trunk[edit]

[[null|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:African\_Bush\_Elephant\_Skull.jpg%7Cthumb%7CA male African bush elephant skull on display at the Museum of Osteology]]
African elephants have grey folded skin up to 30 mm (1.2 in) thick that is covered with sparse, bristled dark-brown to black hair. Short tactile hair grows on the trunk, which has two finger-like processes at the tip, whereas Asian elephants only have one. Their large ears help to reduce body heat; flapping them creates air currents and exposes the ears' inner sides where large blood vessels increase heat loss during hot weather. The trunk is a prehensile elongation of its upper lip and nose. This highly sensitive organ is innervated primarily by the trigeminal nerve, and thought to be manipulated by about 40,000–60,000 muscles. Because of this muscular structure, the trunk is so strong that elephants can use it for lifting about 3% of their own body weight. They use it for smelling, touching, feeding, drinking, dusting, producing sounds, loading, defending and attacking. Elephants sometimes swim underwater and use their trunks as snorkels.

### Tusks and molars[edit]

Both male and female African elephants have tusks that grow from deciduous teeth called tushes, which are replaced by tusks when calves are about one year old. Tusks are composed of dentin, which forms small diamond-shaped structures in the tusk's center that become larger at its periphery. Tusks are primarily used to dig for roots and strip the bark from trees for food, for fighting each other during mating season, and for defending themselves against predators. The tusks weigh from 23 to 45 kg (51–99 lb) and can be from 1.5 to 2.4 m (5–8 ft) long. They are curved forward and continue to grow throughout the elephant's lifetime.

The dental formula of elephants is 1.0.3.30.0.3.3 × 2 = 26. Elephants have four molars; each weighs about 5 kg (11 lb) and measures about 30 cm (12 in) long. As the front pair wears down and drops out in pieces, the back pair moves forward, and two new molars emerge in the back of the mouth. Elephants replace their teeth four to six times in their lifetimes. At around 40 to 60 years of age, the elephant loses the last of its molars and will likely die of starvation which is a common cause of death. African elephants have 24 teeth in total, six on each quadrant of the jaw. The enamel plates of the molars are fewer in number than in Asian elephants.

### Size[edit]

The African bush elephant is the largest terrestrial animal. Cows are 2.2–2.6 m (7.2–8.5 ft) tall at the shoulder and weigh 2,160–3,232 kg (4,762–7,125 lb), while bulls are 3.2–4 m (10–13 ft) tall and weigh 4,700–6,048 kg (10,362–13,334 lb). Its back is concave-shaped, while the back of the African forest elephant is nearly straight. The largest recorded individual stood 3.96 metres (13.0 ft) at the shoulder, and is estimated to have weighed 10,400 kg (22,900 lb). The tallest recorded individual stood 4.21 m (13.8 ft) at the shoulder and weighed 8,000 kg (18,000 lb).

The African forest elephant is smaller with a weight of up to 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) and a shoulder height of 1.8–2.4 m (5 ft 11 in – 7 ft 10 in) in females and 2.4–3 m (7 ft 10 in – 9 ft 10 in) in males. It is the third largest terrestrial animal.

## Distribution and habitat[edit]

[[null|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Serengeti\_Elefantenherde2.jpg%7Cthumb%7CFemale bush elephants in Tanzania]]
thumb
African elephants are distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa, where they inhabit Sahelian scrubland and arid regions, tropical rainforests, mopane and miombo woodlands. African forest elephant populations occur only in Central Africa.

## Behavior and ecology[edit]

### Sleeping pattern[edit]

Elephants are the animals with the lowest sleep times, especially African elephants. Their average sleep was found to be only 2 hours in 24-hour cycles.

### Family[edit]

link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bull\_elephants\_small.jpg|thumb|Bull elephants in mock aggression
Both African elephant species live in family units comprising several adult cows, their daughters and their subadult sons. Each family unit is led by an older cow known as the matriarch. African forest elephant groups are less cohesive than African bush elephant groups, probably because of the lack of predators.

When separate family units bond, they form kinship or bond groups. After puberty, male elephants tend to form close alliances with other males. While females are the most active members of African elephant groups, both male and female elephants are capable of distinguishing between hundreds of different low frequency infrasoniccalls to communicate with and identify each other.
Elephants use some vocalisations that are beyond the hearing range of humans, to communicate across large distances. Elephant mating rituals include the gentle entwining of trunks.

Elephants use some vocalisations that are beyond the hearing range of humans, to communicate across large distances. Elephant mating rituals include the gentle entwining of trunks.

The bulls were believed to be solitary animals, becoming independent once reaching maturity. New research suggests that bulls maintain ecological knowledge for the herd, facilitating survival when searching for food and water, which also benefits the young bulls who associate with them. Bulls only return to the herd to breed or to socialize; they do not provide prenatal care to their offspring, but rather play a fatherly role to younger bulls to show dominance.

### Feeding[edit]

While feeding, the African elephant uses its trunk to pluck leaves and its tusk to tear at branches, which can cause enormous damage to foliage. Fermentation of the food takes place in the hindgut, thus enabling large food intakes. The large size and hindgut of the African elephant also allows for digestion of various plant parts, including fibrous stems, bark and roots.

### Intelligence[edit]

See also: Elephant cognition
[[null|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Elephant\_scratching\_on\_a\_tree.jpg%7Cthumb%7CScratching on a tree helps to remove layers of dead skin and parasites]]
African elephants are highly intelligent. They have a very large and highly convoluted neocortex, a trait they share with humans, apes and some dolphin species. They are amongst the world's most intelligent species. With a mass of just over 5 kg (11 lb), the elephant brain is larger than that of any other terrestrial animal. The elephant's brain is similar to a human brain in terms of structure and complexity; the elephant's cortex has as many neurons as that of a human brain, suggesting convergent evolution.

Elephants exhibit a wide variety of behaviours, including those associated with grief, learning, mimicry, art, play, a sense of humor, altruism, use of tools, compassion, cooperation, self-awareness, memory and possibly language. All of these behaviors point to a highly intelligent species that is thought to be equal with cetaceans and primates.