Nature Atlas

How Nature Works
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Taxa

Elephas

Mammal Genera

Elephas is a genus of elephants, family Elephantidae, that once held several species but now survives with only one, the Asian elephant, Elephas maximus, found from India in the west across the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia to Borneo in the east and Sumatra in the south. It is distinguished from African elephants by a single fingerlike process on the trunk tip rather than two, smaller folded ears, a convex back and hemispherical forehead bulges; males average 2.75 meters tall and 4.0 tonnes, females 2.40 meters and 2.7 tonnes, and many individuals, especially females, lack tusks. It has been listed as endangered since 1986, with populations down at least 50 percent over roughly 60 to 75 years from habitat loss, fragmentation and poaching.

Facts
Classification
Living or Extinct
Yes 1
Taxonomic Rank
Genus 2
Connections

Parent Taxon Of

Source Asian elephant (Wikidata)
Sources
1. Wikidata (taxon extant/extinct status)
Wikimedia Foundation / Wikidata contributorsQ310746, descriptionView the Source
2. Wikipedia: Elephas
Taxonomic rank (Wikipedia confirms the entity; rank from slug/structure-wave classification)View the Source
Wikidata: Elephas
Wikidata Q310746, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
Asian elephant (Wikidata)
WikidataParent Taxon Of: Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus), Wikidata P171 (parent taxon) claim, rank=normal, target=Q310746 (Elephas)View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.