African Elephant

African elephants are elephants of the genus Loxodonta.[2] The genus consists of two extant species: the African bush elephant, L. africana, and the smaller African forest elephant, L. cyclotis. Loxodonta (from Greek λοξός, loxós: 'slanting, crosswise, oblique sided'; + ὀδούς, odoús: stem -odont, 'tooth') is one of two existing genera of the family Elephantidae.[1] Fossil remains of Loxodonta elephants have been recognized only in Africa, dating back to strata from the middle Pliocene. However, sequence analysis of DNA from fossils of the extinct European species Palaeoloxodon antiquus shows it to be much closer to L. cyclotis than L. africana is, undermining the validity of Loxodonta.[3]