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Elephants

Elephantidae

Elephants are the largest living land animals and the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae (order Proboscidea), characterized by a muscular trunk (an elongated upper lip and nose), tusks, columnar legs, and large ears. Traditionally, two species were often listed (African and Asian), but many modern references now recognize three living species: the African savanna/bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). They occupy a wide range of habitats in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia (including sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South and Southeast Asia). Although Elephantidae is the only living proboscidean family, the order once included many extinct relatives, most notably mammoths (extinct elephantids in the genus Mammuthus) and mastodons (more distant relatives in the separate family Mammutidae).

Elephants are the largest living land animals and the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae (order Proboscidea), characterized by a muscular trunk (an elongated upper lip and nose), tusks, columnar legs, and large ears. Traditionally, two species were often listed (African and Asian), but many modern references now recognize three living species: the African savanna/bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). They occupy a wide range of habitats in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia (including sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South and Southeast Asia). Although Elephantidae is the only living proboscidean family, the order once included many extinct relatives, most notably mammoths (extinct elephantids in the genus Mammuthus) and mastodons (more distant relatives in the separate family Mammutidae).