Elephas

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.