Forest Elephant
Until recently, it was thought that the
Forest Elephant (
Loxodonta cyclotis) was simply a
subspecies of the
African Savannah Elephant (
Loxodonta africana).
DNA testing has now shown that there are in fact three extant
elephant species: the two African types (formerly considered to be separate populations of a single species, the African Elephant) and the South
Asian species, known as the Indian or
Asian Elephant.
A small number of zoologists argued that the Forest Elephant was a distinct species as long ago as
1900. Evidence put forward included its long, narrow
mandible (the Savannah Elephant's is short and wide), its rounded ears (a Savannah Elephant's ears are more pointed), a different number of toenails, different tusks, and considerably smaller size. Male Forest Elephants rarely exceed 2.5 metres in height, while Savannah Elephants are usually over 3 metres and sometimes almost 4 metres tall.
The toenail evidence proved to be misleading: although adult Savannah Elephants, on average, have 14 toenails (four toes on each forefoot and three on each hindfoot), and Forest Elephants average 18 toenails (5 front and 4 rear),
all elephants are in fact born with five toenails per foot, but because of the rougher terrain they usually occupy, Savannah Elephants suffer more minor foot injuries.
Nevertheless, the remaining differences would have been sufficient to assign species rank to the Forest Elephant, had it not been observed that the two populations interbreed where their ranges overlap. In consequence, the Forest Elephant was listed as a subspecies,
Loxodonta africana cyclotis.
Late in the
20th century, conservation workers established a DNA identification system to trace the origin of poached
ivory. It had long been known that the ivory of Forest Elephants was particularly hard, with a pinkish tinge, and straight (where that of the Savannah Elephant is curved). The DNA tests, however, indicated that the two populations were much more different than previously appreciated—indeed, in its genetic makeup, the Forest Elephant is almost two-thirds as distinct from the Savannah Elephant as the Asian Elephant is.
