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The 'African Forest Elephant' (''Loxodonta cyclotis'') was until recently considered a subspecies of the African Bush Elephant (''Loxodonta africana''); however, DNA testing has now shown that there possibly are three extant elephant species: the two African types, typically considered to be different populations of a single species, the African Elephant, and the South Asian species known as the Indian or Asian Elephant. Not all authorities, notably the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group, consider the presently available evidence sufficient for splitting the African Elephant into two species. The North African elephants - the war elephants of Hannibal - were possibly a now-extinct fourth species or a subspecies of the Forest Elephant (''Loxodonta (cyclotis) pharaoensis'') though they are more often allied with the Bush Elephant; in any case, this population disappeared around the 1st or 2nd century CE. The disputed Pygmy Elephants of the Congo basin, often assumed to be a separate species (''Loxodonta pumilio'') by cryptozoologists, are probably Forest Elephants whose diminutive size and/or early maturity is due to environmental conditions (Debruyne ''et al.'' 2003).
Differences include the African Forest Elephant's long, narrow mandible (the African Bush Elephant's is short and wide), its rounded ears (an African Bush Elephant's ears are more pointed), different tusks, and considerably smaller size. The male African Forest Elephant rarely exceed 2.5 metres (8 feet) in height, while the African Bush Elephant is usually over 3 metres (just under 10 feet) and sometimes almost 4 metres (13 feet) tall.
Late in the 20th century, conservation workers established a DNA identification system to trace the origin of poached ivory. It had long been known that the ivory of the African Forest Elephant was particularly hard, with a pinkish tinge, and straight (whereas that of the African Bush Elephant is curved). The DNA tests, however, indicated that the two populations were much more different compared with previously appreciated—indeed, in its genetic makeup, the African Forest Elephant is almost two-thirds as distinct from the African Bush Elephant as the Asian Elephant is.

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References

★ Debruyne, R., Holt, A. van, Barriel, V. & Tassy, P. 2003. Status of the so-called African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio (NOACK 1906)): phylogeny of cytochrome b and mitochondrial control region sequences. Comptes Rendus de Biologie 326(7):687-697. [1]

★ IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG): 'Statement on the Taxonomy of extant Loxodonta' (February, 2006).

★ Genetic Evidence for Two Species of Elephant in Africa, , Alfred L., Roca, Science,

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External links

★ ARKive - images and movies of the forest elephant ''(Loxodonta cyclotis)''

★ PBS Nature: Tracking Forest Elephants

★ Forest Elephant Program

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