Elephas ekorensis is an extinct species of elephant. Fossils have been found in East Africa dating as far back as the Early Pliocene age, between 5 and 4.2 million years ago.[1] It is the earliest species placed in the genus Elephas.[2][3][4] It has been suggested to have been a grazer or mixed feeder (both browsing and grazing).[5] Its placement in the genus of Elephas has been questioned, as the teeth are similar to those of the contemporaneous Loxodonta adaurora. A number of specimens assigned to it likely actually belong to other species.[5]
| Elephas ekorensis Temporal range: Early Pliocene
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Proboscidea |
| Family: | Elephantidae |
| Genus: | Elephas |
| Species: | †E. ekorensis
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| Binomial name | |
| †Elephas ekorensis Maglio, 1970
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References edit
- ^ Sanders, William J.; Haile-Selassie, Yohannes (June 2012). "A New Assemblage of Mid-Pliocene Proboscideans from the Woranso-Mille Area, Afar Region, Ethiopia: Taxonomic, Evolutionary, and Paleoecological Considerations". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 19 (2): 105–128. doi:10.1007/s10914-011-9181-y. ISSN 1064-7554.
- ^ Sukumar, Raman (2003). The Living Elephants: Evolutionary Ecology, Behaviour, and Conservation. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190283087.
- ^ Genoways, H.H. (2013). Current Mammalogy, Volume 1. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 131. ISBN 9781475799095.
- ^ Sanders, William & Haile-Selassie, Yohannes. (2011). A New Assemblage of Mid-Pliocene Proboscideans from the Woranso-Mille Area, Afar Region, Ethiopia: Taxonomic, Evolutionary, and Paleoecological Considerations. Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 19. 10.1007/s10914-011-9181-y.
- ^ a b Sanders, William J. (March 2020). "Proboscidea from Kanapoi, Kenya". Journal of Human Evolution. 140: 102547. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.10.013.
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