Elephas hysudricus

Elephas hysudricus is an extinct elephant species known from the Pleistocene of Asia and thought to be ancestral to the living Asian elephant, from which it is distinguished by molar teeth with a lower crown height and fewer lamellae. Remains are primarily known from the Indian subcontinent, with the most important finds in the Siwalik Hills, where the oldest are about 2.6 million years old at the start of the Early Pleistocene and the youngest about 0.6 million years old in the Middle Pleistocene, though it probably persisted later. Remains likely attributable to it are also known from the Levant in Israel and Jordan, from the late Middle Pleistocene. Isotopic analysis suggests that early members were mainly grazers but shifted to mixed feeding after the much larger Palaeoloxodon namadicus arrived. It is closely related to, and possibly ancestral to, Elephas hysudrindicus from Java.