Elephas


Elephas is one of two surviving genera in the family of elephants, Elephantidae, with one surviving species, the Asian elephant, Elephas maximus.
Several extinct species have been identified as belonging to the genus, including Elephas recki, Elephas antiquus and the dwarf elephants E. falconeri and E. cypriotes. The genus is very closely related to the mammoth genus Mammuthus.
According to a study by Saki Yasui and Gen’ichi Idani titled “Social significance of trunk use in captive Asian elephants”, a group of female elephants in Thailand were observed to determine if the way in which they use their trunks to touch other elephants was related to the social relationships they developed. Yasui and Idani concluded that there is in fact a significance amongst the two variables.

Taxonomy

Elephas is assigned to the proboscidean family Elephantidae and is made up of one living and seven extinct species: