Taxonomy

The African elephant is one of only two surviving genera of the Elephantidae family that once occurred in many parts of the earth.  Recent genetic studies show that African elephants are actually comprised of two distinct species, Loxodonta africana (commonly referred to as savanna elephants) and Loxodonta cyclotis (commonly referred to as forest elephants).  Although more closely related to the extinct mammoths, African elephants’ nearest and only surviving relatives are the Asian elephants, Elephas maximus. 

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Eutheria
Order: Proboscidea
Family: Elephantidae
Genus: Loxodonta