African Bush Elephant

Open encyclopedia reference

The African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), also known as the African savanna elephant, is a species of elephant native to sub-Saharan Africa and the largest living terrestrial animal, with fully grown bulls reaching an average shoulder height of 3.04–3.36 m (10.0–11.0 ft) and a body mass of 5.2–6.9 t (5.7–7.6 short tons); the largest recorded specimen had a shoulder height of 3.96 m (13.0 ft) and an estimated body mass of 10.4 t (11.5 short tons). It is characterised by its long prehensile trunk with two finger-like processes; a concave back; large ears which help reduce body heat; and sturdy tusks that are noticeably curved. Its skin is grey with scanty hairs, and bending cracks which support thermoregulation by retaining water. The African bush elephant inhabits a variety of habitats such as forests, grasslands, woodlands, wetlands and agricultural land. It is a mixed herbivore feeding mostly on grasses, creepers, herbs, leaves, and bark. The average adult consumes about 150 kg (330 lb) of vegetation and 230 L (51 imp gal; 61 US gal) of water each day.

Wikipedia contributors, African bush elephant; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:04:42.476321+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Loxodonta africana (Blumenbach, 1797)

Name authority

(Blumenbach, 1797)

Common name

African Bush Elephant

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Proboscidea

Family

Elephantidae

Genus

Loxodonta

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderProboscidea Illiger, 1811
12. familyElephantidae Gray, 1821
13. genusLoxodonta F. Cuvier, 1827
14. speciesLoxodonta africana (Blumenbach, 1797)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Loxodonta. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 3 records assigned to Elephantidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=584939 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:3W9KV. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.