Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (January 2007)

Elephas recki is an extinct species of African elephant. At up to 15 feet (4.5 metres) in shoulder height, it was one of the largest elephant species to have ever lived. It is believed that E. recki ranged throughout Africa between 3.5 and 1 million years ago. The Asian Elephant is the only extant member of the genus. E. recki was a successful grass eating elephant that lived throughout the Pliocene and the Pleistocene until it was pushed to extinction in competition with members of the genus Loxodonta, the African elephants of today. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The Pliocene epoch (spelled Pleiocene in some older texts) is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5. ... The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) on the geologic timescale is the period from 1,808,000 to 11,550 years BP. The Pleistocene epoch had been intended to cover the worlds recent period of repeated glaciations. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of sweat glands, including those that produce milk, and by the presence of: hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex... Groups Jozaria (extinct) Anthracobunidae (extinct) Moeritheriidae (extinct) Euproboscidea Numidotheriidae (extinct) Barytheriidae (extinct) Deinotheriidae (extinct) Elephantiformes Phiomiidae (extinct) Palaeomastodontidae (extinct) Hemimastodontidae (extinct) Euelephantoidea Choerolophodontidae (extinct) Amebelodontidae (extinct) Gnathabelodontidae (extinct) Gomphotheriidae (extinct) Elephantidae Mammutidae (extinct) Proboscidea is an order containing only one family of living animals, Elephantidae, the elephants, with three species... Genera and Species Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta africana Elephas Elephas maximus Proboscidea is an order including only one extant family, Elephantidae or the elephants, with three species: the Savannah Elephant and Forest Elephant (which were collectively known as the African Elephant), and the Asian Elephant (formerly known as the Indian... Species †E. antiquus † † † † †E. falconeri † E. maximus † † †E. recki †E. namadicus Elephas is a genus in the elephant Order, Proboscidea The genus has one surviving species, the Asian elephant (), but ten extinct species have been identified as belonging to the genus, including E. recki, E. antiquus, and the dwarf elephants... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Dietrich may refer to: Dietrich, Idaho Sepp Dietrich Marlene Dietrich Dietrich, Nazi leader from computer game Prisoner of Ice Dietrich, Nazi colonel in Raiders of the Lost Ark Categories: Disambiguation ... For other uses, see Extinction (disambiguation). ... Genera and Species Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta africana Elephas Elephas maximus Elephas antiquus † Elephas beyeri † Elephas celebensis † Elephas cypriotes † Elephas ekorensis † Elephas falconeri † Elephas iolensis † Elephas planifrons † Elephas platycephalus † Elephas recki † Stegodon † Mammuthus † Elephantidae (the elephants) is a family of pachyderm, and the only remaining family in the order Proboscidea... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 Asian Elephant range The Asian or Asiatic Elephant (Elephas maximus), sometimes known by the name of its nominate subspecies (the Indian Elephant), is one of the three living species of elephant, and the only living species of the genus Elephas. ... The Pliocene epoch (spelled Pleiocene in some older texts) is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5. ... The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) on the geologic timescale is the period from 1,808,000 to 11,550 years BP. The Pleistocene epoch had been intended to cover the worlds recent period of repeated glaciations. ... Species Loxodonta adaurora(extinct) Loxodonta africana Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta is a genus in Elephantidae, the family of elephants. ... Species Loxodonta adaurora (extinct) Loxodonta africana Loxodonta cyclotis African elephants are the two species of elephants in the Loxodonta genus, one of the two existing genera in Elephantidae. ...

Subspecies

M. Beden ^[1][2][3] 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 indicates that the ranges for all five subspecies overlap, and that they are not separated in time as previously proposed. The research also found a wide range of morphological variation, both between the supposed subspecies and between different specimens previously identified as belonging to the same subspecies. The degree of temporal and geographical overlap, along with the morphological variation in E. recki suggests that the relationships between any subspecies are more complicated than previously indicated.^[4][5] Camille Arambourg (1885-1970) was a French vertebrate paleontologist. ... The term morphology in biology refers to the outward appearance (shape, structure, colour, pattern) of an organism or taxon and its component parts. ...

References