Species Differences
A 2010 genetic study confirmed the African bush elephant and the African forest elephant are distinct species. By sequencing DNA of 375 nuclear genes, scientists determined the two species diverged around the same time as the Asian elephant and the woolly mammoth, and are as distinct from one another as those two species. As of December 2010, conservation organizations, such as the United Nations Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), had not distinguished between the two species of African elephants for purposes of assessing their conservation status. As of March 2010, the IUCN Red List classified African elephants as a whole as vulnerable species and the Central African elephant population (forest elephants) as Endangered.
Another possible species or subspecies formerly existed; although formally described it has not been widely recognized by the scientific community. The North African elephant (L. a. pharaohensis), also known as the Carthaginian elephant or Atlas elephant, was the animal famously used as a war elephant by Carthage in its long struggle against Rome.
Read more about this topic: African Bush Elephant
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