# data[].attributes.body
The African elephant (Loxodonta) is a genus comprising two living elephant species, the African bush elephant (L. africana) and the smaller African forest elephant (L. cyclotis). The name Loxodonta refers to the lozenge-shaped enamel of their molar teeth.

# data[].attributes.body
- Hyrax, Southern tree hyrax, D. arboreus arboreus Eastern tree hyrax, D. arboreus validus Western tree hyrax, D. dorsalis
- Sirenia, West Indian manatee, T. manatus Linnaeus, African manatee, T. senegalensis

# data[].attributes.body
Proboscidea hooved animals:
- Hyraxes or Hyracoidea
- Sirenia or T. manatus Linnaeus

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Biology: The Order Proboscidea of Placental Mammals

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The family tree of the largest living land animal may have its roots deep in the water, a new study suggests.

Chemical signatures from fossil teeth reveal that at least one species of proboscidean, an ancient elephant relative, lived in an aquatic environment.

The teeth of the ancient animal, which belonged to a genus called Moeritherium, suggest that it ate freshwater plants and dwelled in swamps or river systems, said Alexander Liu of Oxford University's department of earth sciences.

"Essentially it's a hippo-like mode of life. That's the closest animal that we can think of today," said Liu, lead author of recent research on the teeth.

Living elephants and their extinct relatives share a common ancestor with manatees, dugongs and the other aquatic mammals known as sirenians.

Moeritherium lived some 37 million years ago, many millions of years after the genetic lineages of elephants and sirenians split, Liu said.

Teeth Solve Mystery

Moeritherium didn't much resemble modern elephants. It was probably about the size of a tapir -29 to 42 inches (74 to 107 centimeters) tall at the shoulder.

It seems to have lacked a trunk but may have had a prehensile upper lip.

The animal's teeth were unearthed in northern Egypt's Faiyum region, which in ancient times was a shallow estuary or coastal system where the environment changed often.

The Moeritherium fossils were found in rock containing strong evidence of swamp and river ecosystems. But it was difficult for scientists to tell whether the ancient animals had actually lived in such an environment or whether their bodies had washed up there after their deaths.

In the end, the teeth told the tale.

Carbon isotopes in tooth enamel retained signatures of Moeritherium's diet, while oxygen isotopes evidenced the local water sources from which they originated.

By comparing variations in the ratios of these isotopes with those of terrestrial animals that lived during the same period, the team determined that the proboscidean was likely semi-aquatic.

Their research appears in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

From Land to Sea and Back Again?

William Sanders of the University of Michigan's Museum of Paleontology said he found the new study to be "first rate," providing convincing evidence that Moeritherium was indeed semi-aquatic.

"Paleontologists have thought for nearly a century that moeritheres were at least semi-aquatic, hippo- or sea cow-like in their overall adaptations and lifeways," he said.

Yet Sanders cautioned against assuming an aquatic ancestry for modern elephants or even suggesting that all early proboscideans were aquatic.

"[ Moeritherium is a] very specialized animal that may have been off the main line of evolution from that which led to elephants," he said.

The creatures also lived long before the first modern elephants appeared about seven million years ago. Thus Sanders noted that if elephants did have an aquatic past, some 20 million years of terrestrial evolution would have left few traces today.

"A popular myth about elephants, for example, is that their trunk evolved as a sort of snorkel in more aquatic settings," he said.

(See related photo: "Loch Ness Monster Was an Elephant?" [March 9, 2006].)

"The truth is that early proboscideans lacked a projecting proboscis, and that the development of trunks has more to do with the hypertrophy [enlargement] of the tusks and feeding adaptations on land."

Oxford's Liu hopes to tackle such questions by testing the teeth of even more primitive elephants to discover more about when their lifestyle shifts occurred and when the sirenians may have split from their relatives.

He's also intrigued by the possibility that proboscideans will provide the first evidence of terrestrial mammals becoming aquatic and then returning to land.

"The first mammals were terrestrial," he explained.

"For a mammal group to have been terrestrial and then to have moved into an aquatic habitat, as [ Moeritherium] seems to have done-and then at some point reverted back from being aquatic, as our data suggest happened-that's a very intriguing possibility."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ancient Elephant Ancestor Lived in Water, Study Finds

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The family tree of the largest living land animal may have its roots deep in the water, a new study suggests. Chemical signatures from fossil teeth reveal that at least one species of proboscidean, an ancient elephant relative, lived in an aquatic environment.

# data[].attributes.body
Is the Rock Hyrax!

# data[].attributes.body
- Bats or Emballonuridae
- Squirrels or Sciurus Linnaeus
- Hippo or Hippopotamus
- Possums or Didelphis
- Deer or Odocoileus

# data[].attributes.body
- Nile tilapia fish or Oreochromis niloticus
- Great white shark or Carcharodon carcharias
- Rattlesnakes or Crotalus
- Crocodile or Crocodylus Laurenti
- European rabbit or Oryctolagus cuniculus
- Toucan bird or Ramphastos Linnaeus

# data[].attributes.body
- Humans or homo sapiens
- Frogs or Rana Linnaeus
- Zebras or Equus
- Lions or Panthera
- Monkeys or Nasalis
- Bears or Ursus
- Birds or Aves

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Written by Aleema Noormohamed Elephants, the planet's largest terrestrial mammal, are fascinating creatures that are worth getting to understand.
Here are 10 facts everyone should know about elephants.

1. There are three distinct species of elephant left in the world: The Asian elephant and, in Africa, the forest and savannah elephant species.

2. The word "elephant" comes from the Greek word " elephas " which means "ivory".

3. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months - longer than any other land animal in the world. A newborn human baby weighs an average of 7 pounds while a newborn elephant baby can weigh up to 260 pounds! The baby can stand up shortly after being born.

4. The oldest known elephant in the world lived for 86 years (1917 - 2003). The average lifespan of an elephant is from 50 to 70 years. The largest known elephant was shot in Angola in 1956 and weighed about 11 tons! It had a shoulder height of 3.96 metres!

5. The tusks of an elephant are modified incisors that grow throughout an elephant's lifetime. An adult male's tusks grow about 7 inches a year. Tusks are used to dig for salt, water and roots, to debark trees, to clear a path and occasionally in fights. Additionally, they are used for marking trees to establish an elephant's territory.

6. The elephant's trunk is a fusion of its nose and upper lip. It is the elephant's most important limb. The trunk is sensitive enough to pick up a blade of grass and strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. The trunk is also used for drinking - the elephant can suck up to 14 litres of water at a time and then blow it straight into its mouth!

When bathing, the elephant sucks water to spray on its body. It will then spray dirt and mud on its wet coat, which will dry and act as a sunscreen.

7. Elephants have two gaits - a walk and a faster gait that is similar to running. They cannot jump, trot or gallop, however, they can swim and use their trunk as a snorkel. Read more about this fascinating topic here: Can elephants run, or do they just walk faster?

8. The elephant's huge ears are used to radiate excess heat away from the body. They have blood vessels close to the skin surface, that carry air, cooled when the elephant flaps its ears, to the main bloodstream.

9. Elephant behaviour is associated with a unique animal intelligence that displays grief, altruism, compassion, self-awareness, play, art and music!

10. There is a structured social order in the elephant's lifestyle. The females spend their entire lives in tight family groups made up of mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters and daughters. The eldest female normally leads the group. Adult males prefer to live a bachelor lifestyle.
Subscribe to enjoy more stories like this. TRAVEL WITH AFRICA GEOGRAPHIC
Travel in Africa is about knowing when and where to go, and with whom. A few weeks too early / late and a few kilometres off course and you could miss the greatest show on Earth. And wouldn't that be a pity? Search for your ideal safari here, or contact an Africa Geographic safari consultant to plan your dream vacation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Fascinating facts about elephants - Africa Geographic

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Written by Aleema Noormohamed Elephants, the planet's largest terrestrial mammal, are fascinating creatures that are worth getting to understand. Here are 10 facts everyone should know about elephants. 1. There are three distinct species of elephant left in the world: The Asian elephant and, in Africa, the forest and savannah elephant species.

# data[].attributes.body
- The Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)
- The African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis)

# data[].attributes.body
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Proboscidea
Family: Elephantidae
Genus: Loxodonta
Species: Loxodonta cyclotis