Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Distinctive features of elephants include a long proboscis called a trunk, tusks, large ear flaps, pillar-like legs, and tough but sensitive grey skin. The trunk is prehensile, bringing food and water to the mouth and grasping objects. Tusks, which are derived from the incisor teeth, serve both as weapons and as tools for moving objects and ...
Both African elephant species live in family units comprising several adult cows, their daughters and their subadult sons. Each family unit is led by an older cow known as the matriarch. [33] [34] African forest elephant groups are less cohesive than African bush elephant groups, probably because of the lack of predators. [34]
The African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) is one of the two living species of African elephant, along with the African bush elephant. It is native to humid tropical forests in West Africa and the Congo Basin. It is the smallest of the three living elephant species, reaching a shoulder height of 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in). As with other African ...
The oldest species widely attributed to the genus, Elephas ekorensis is known from the early-mid Pliocene (5–4.2 million years ago) of East Africa, [6] though the attribution of this species to Elephas has been questioned, due to a lack of shared morphological features with later Elephas species. [7]
Elephantidae is a family of large, herbivorous proboscidean mammals which includes the living elephants (belonging to the genera Elephas and Loxodonta), as well as a number of extinct genera like Mammuthus (mammoths) and Palaeoloxodon.
The African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), also known as the African savanna elephant, is a species of elephant native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of three extant elephant species and, along with the African forest elephant , one of two extant species of African elephant .
When comparing an elephant's vocal folds to those of a human, an elephant's are longer, thicker, and have a larger cross-sectional area. In addition, they are tilted at 45 degrees and positioned more anteriorly than a human's vocal folds. [18] From various experiments, the elephant larynx is shown to produce various and complex vibratory phenomena.
The largest extant proboscidean is the African bush elephant, with a world record of size of 4 m (13.1 ft) at the shoulder and 10.4 t (11.5 short tons). [2] In addition to their enormous size, later proboscideans are distinguished by tusks and long, muscular trunks, which were less developed or absent in early proboscideans.