elephas

Elephas is a genus of elephants in the family Elephantidae. It includes the living Asian elephant, Elephas maximus, and several extinct species known from the fossil record. Along with Loxodonta (the African elephants), Elephas forms one of the two extant genera in Elephantidae. The Asian elephant is the sole surviving member of Elephas today.

Living Asian elephants are native to the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and parts of southern China. They inhabit a variety of habitats, including forests, grasslands, and wetlands. Asian elephants are smaller than African elephants, with a single finger-like projection at the tip of the trunk and ears that are large but relatively smaller than those of African elephants. They are highly social, typically forming matriarchal herds, while older males may live solitary or in loose bachelor groups. They are herbivorous and can consume large quantities of vegetation daily, aided by their trunk and dentition that wears in a characteristic cycle.

Taxonomy within Elephas has varied, and several subspecies have been proposed, such as Elephas maximus indicus (the Indian elephant) and Elephas maximus sumatranus (the Sumatran elephant), though the exact status of subspecies is debated. The genus is also known from the fossil record with numerous extinct species, such as Elephas recki, Elephas planifrons, and Elephas falconeri, which lived across Africa, Asia, and Europe during the Miocene to Pleistocene.

Conservation and paleontology: The living Asian elephant is listed as Endangered by the IUCN, threatened by habitat loss, fragmentation, and poaching. The Elephas record extends from the Miocene to the present, illustrating a long evolutionary history of large elephants in Eurasia and Africa.