Elephas ekorensis

Elephas ekorensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Proboscidea
Family: Elephantidae
Genus: Elephas
Species: Elephas ekorensis

Elephas ekorensis is an extinct species of large herbivorous mammals belonging to the Elephantidae family. Fossils have been found in East Africa dating as far back as the Early Pliocene age, between 5.3 and 3.6 million years ago.[1] It is the earliest recognisable species in the Elephas genus. There are two lineages, a dead-end, Afro-Eurasian lineage and an Asian lineage that evolved into modern Asian elephants. It was an ancestor of Elephas recki and Elephas iolensis.[2][3]

References

  1. Donald R. Prothero, Robert M. Schoch (2002). Horns, Tusks, and Flippers: The Evolution of Hoofed Mammals. JHU Press. p. 170. ISBN 9780801871351.
  2. Sukumar, Raman (2003). The Living Elephants: Evolutionary Ecology, Behaviour, and Conservation. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190283087.
  3. Genoways, H.H. (2013). Current Mammalogy, Volume 1. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 131. ISBN 9781475799095.
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