African Elephant

African Elephant

African elephants are the elephants of the genus Loxodonta (Greek for 'oblique-sided tooth'), consisting of two extant species: the African bush elephant and the smaller African forest elephant. Loxodonta is one of the two existing genera in the family Elephantidae. Although it is commonly believed that the genus was named by Georges Cuvier in 1825, Cuvier spelled it "Loxodonte". An anonymous author romanized the spelling to "Loxodonta", and the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) recognizes this as the proper authority.

Fossil members of Loxodonta have only been found in Africa, where they developed in the middle Pliocene.

Read more about African Elephant:  Description, Distribution and Habitat, Classification, Behavior, Conservation

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