In 1942, 18 subspecies of African elephant were recognised by Henry Fairfield Osborn, but further morphological data has reduced the number of classified subspecies, and by the 1990s, only two were recognised, the savannah or bush elephant (L. a. africana) and the forest elephant (L. a. cyclotis), the latter having been named in 1900 by German zoologist Paul Matschie.
En 1942, dezaoito subespecies de elefante africano foron recoñecidas por Henry Fairfield Osborn, pero outros datos morfolóxicos reduciron o número de subespecies clasificadas, e na década de 1990 só se recoñeceron dúas, a de sabana (L. a. africana) e o de bosque (L. a. cyclotis), sendo este último nomeado en 1900 polo zoólogo alemán Paul Matschie.