Scientific name

[ch]

What is the scientific name for elephants

[j2buttonsw]

Loxodonta africana is the African elephant, Loxodonta cyclotis is the forest elephant whereas Elephas maximus is the Indian or Asian elephant.

[sft42]

Naw...It's big ears...Honest!

[morg_monster]

Pachyderm is another term, but this also includes some other animals: definition is any of various nonruminant hoofed mammals having very thick skin: elephant; rhinoceros; hippopotamus

[New Forester]

The species names given are correct (as far as currently understood) for the few surviving elephant species. However, "elephants" really covers all the members of the order Proboscoidea, most of which are extinct. Some became extinct only in the last few thousand years, and were very likely wiped out by a certain large predatory ape of our close acquaintance -- these include several species of mammoth, the European straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon) and mastodons. Going back very much further, well before modern humans appeared, there were very many different elephants, some interestingly unlike modern ones. Some, for example, had their tusks in the lower jaw, others had tusks in both upper and lower jaws, while others had huge scoop-shaped mouths and probably quite little trunks. As Morg Monster says, the term "pachyderm" does cover elephants as well as rhinos etc. However, it's really a description not a classification -- rather as "trees" means large woody plants, although many trees are quite unrelated to each other.