African Straight-tusked Elephant
Palaeoloxodon recki
Conservation Status
Data DeficientMammalia · Proboscidea · Elephantidae
About
Palaeoloxodon recki, often known by the synonym Elephas recki, is an extinct species of elephant native to Africa and West Asia from the Pliocene or Early Pleistocene to the Middle Pleistocene. During most of its existence, the species represented the dominant elephant species in East Africa. The species is divided into five roughly chronologically successive subspecies, collectively termed the "Elephas recki complex". While the type and latest subspecies P. recki recki as well as the preceding P. recki ileretensis are widely accepted to be closely related and ancestral to Eurasian Palaeoloxodon, the relationships of the other, chronologically earlier subspecies to P. recki recki, P. recki ileretensis and Palaeoloxodon are uncertain, with it being suggested they are unrelated and should be elevated to separate species.
Fun Fact
During most of its existence, the species (in its broad sense) represented the dominant elephant species in East Africa.
Quick Facts
Habitat
To be updated
Diet
Primarily consumed C4 grasses, it showed a degree of dietary flexibility, and particularly towards the end of its existence it consumed some C3 plants, likely including a degree of browse.
Lifespan
To be updated
Threats
- Habitat Change
- Human Disturbance