Citation

The timing of early elephantine differentiation: the palaeontological record, with a short comment on molecular data.
Pascal Tassy & Régis Debruyne.
in ‘The World of Elephants’, Proceedings of the 1st international Congress, 2001. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, pp.685-687

Abstract

The differentiation of the extant genera Elephas and Loxodonta among the Elephantinae (including the extinct genera Primelephas and Mammuthus) occurred during the late Miocene. Earliest known Loxodonta is found in Baringo (Kenya) and Nkondo-Kaiso (Uganda) between 7.3-5.4 Ma. Earliest known Elephas is found at Lothagam (Kenya), circa 6-7 Ma. This paleontological record is in accordance with molecular data: mitochondrial DNA provide support for the estimation of an original split for (Mammuthus, Loxodonta) and (Elephas) dated between 5.6-7.0 Ma.

Original material

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