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'African elephants' are the two species of elephants in the genus '''Loxodonta''', one of the two existing genera in Elephantidae. Although it is commonly believed that the genus was named by Georges Cuvier in 1825, Cuvier spelled it ''Loxodonte''. An anonymous author romanized the spelling to ''Loxodonta'' and the ICZN recognizes this as the proper authority.
Fossil ''Loxodonta'' have only been found in Africa, where they developed in the middle Pliocene.

Contents

Species

Conservation

References

External links

Species

★ ''Loxodonta adaurora'', extinct, presumed antecendent of the modern African elephants.

★ African Bush Elephant (''Loxodonta africana'').

★ African Forest Elephant (''Loxodonta cyclotis'').
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★ Bush and Forest Elephants were formerly considered subspecies under the name ''Loxodonta africana''.

Conservation

Poaching significantly reduced the population of ''Loxodonta'' in certain regions during the 20th century. An example of this poaching pressure is in the eastern region of Chad—elephant herds there were substantial as recently as 1970, with an estimated population of 300,000; however, by 2006 the number had dwindled to about 10,000. The African elephant nominally has governmental protection, but poaching is still a serious issue.^[1]

References

1. 100 Slaughtered Elephants Found in Africa Goudarzi, Sara

External links

★ Elephant Information Repository - An in-depth resource on elephants

★ "Elephant caves" of Mt Elgon National Park

★ ElephantVoices - Resource on elephant vocal communications

★ Elephant Network - Interactive web site of the Amboseli Trust for Elephants