Palaeoloxodon namadicus

Palaeoloxodon namadicus is an extinct species of elephant known from the Middle to Late Pleistocene of the Indian subcontinent and possibly elsewhere in Asia. It grew larger than any living elephant and is one of the largest known proboscideans. Estimates from a lost, fragmentary femur measured in the nineteenth century have led some authors to suggest that it may have exceeded Paraceratherium, usually regarded as the largest land mammal ever, though such figures are speculative. A 2024 study estimated a maximum shoulder height of 4.51 metres and body masses of 13.22 to 18.47 tonnes for five specimens. The species was named Elephas namadicus by Hugh Falconer and Proby Cautley in 1846 from a skull found in the Godavari valley. Isotope evidence indicates a diet of grazing to mixed feeding, with one specimen from the Dhasan River feeding mainly on C4 grasses, and it is thought to have lived mainly in open grassland.