Elephas recki

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iElephas recki
Fossil range: 3.5–1.5 Ma

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Proboscidea
Family:	Elephantidae
Genus:	Elephas
Species:	E. recki

Binomial name

Elephas recki
Dietrich, 1894

Elephas recki is an enormous, extinct species of elephant, at up to 15 feet (4,5 meter) in shoulder height, it was the largest elephant species to have ever lived, even bigger than the Columbian Mammoth. It lived in Africa between 3.5 and 1 million years ago. Although fossils have only been found in the eastern part of the continent, it is believed that E. recki ranged throughout Africa. The Asian Elephant is a member of the same genus, and it is still extant.

[edit] Subspecies

M. Beden <ref>Beden, M. 1980. Elephas recki Dietrich, 1915 (Proboscidea, Elephantidae). Èvolution au cours du Plio-Pléistocène en Afrique orientale]. Geobios 13(6): 891-901. Lyon.</ref><ref>Beden, M. 1983. Family Elephantidae. In J. M. Harris (ed.), Koobi Fora Research Project. Vol. 2. The fossil Ungulates: Proboscidea, Perissodactyla, and Suidae: 40-129. Oxford: Clarendon Press.</ref><ref>Beden, M. 1987. Les faunes Plio-Pléistocène de la basse vallée de l’Omo (Éthiopie), Vol. 2: Les Eléphantidés (Mammalia-Proboscidea) (directed by Y. Coppens and F. C. Howell): 1-162. Cahiers de Paléontologie-Travaux de Paléontologie est-africaine. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). Paris.</ref> identified five subspecies of Elephas recki, from oldest to youngest:

Elephas recki brumpti Beden, 1980
Elephas recki shungurensis Beden, 1980
Elephas recki atavus Arambourg, 1947
Elephas recki ileretensis Beden, 1987
Elephas recki recki (Dietrich, 1916)

New research has indicated that the ranges for all five subspecies overlap, and are not separated in time as previously proposed. Besides the research found a wide range in morphological variation. This degree of temporal overlap and morphological variation in Elephas recki suggests that this is not a single species.<ref>Todd, N. E. 2001. African Elephas recki: Time, space and taxonomy. In: Cavarretta, G., P. Gioia, M. Mussi, and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Rome, Italy. Online pdf</ref><ref>Todd, N. E. 2005. Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72.</ref>