2 African Elephant Types Deemed Different Species

Researchers analyzing genes of African elephants have learned that the groups found in forest areas are different enough from those found in grasslands to be considered separate species. That would mean three distinct species of elephants exist in the world. The genetic dissimilarity between elephants in the forest and those in the savanna “is like the difference between the lion and the tiger,” said geneticist Jill Pecon Slattery of the National Cancer Institute, who reported the finding in Friday’s journal Science. The savanna elephant, Loxodonta africana , has large ears with ragged edges and curving tusks. The African forest elephant, Loxodonta cyclotis , is slightly smaller, with rounded ears and straighter tusks.

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Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II