North African elephant
Extinct subspecies of elephant / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The North African elephant (Loxodonta africana pharaohensis) is an extinct subspecies of the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), or possibly a separate elephant species, that existed in North Africa, north of the Sahara, until it died out in Roman times. These were the famous war elephants used by Carthage in the Punic Wars, their conflict with the Roman Republic. Although the subspecies has been formally described,[2][3] it has not been widely recognized by taxonomists. Other names for this animal include the North African forest elephant, Carthaginian elephant, and Atlas elephant. Originally, its natural range probably extended across North Africa and down to the present Sudanese and Eritrean coasts.
North African elephant | |
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Roman mosaic at Ostia Antica, Italy | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Proboscidea |
Family: | Elephantidae |
Genus: | Loxodonta |
Species: | |
Subspecies: | †L. a. pharaoensis |
Trinomial name | |
†Loxodonta africana pharaoensis Deraniyagala, 1948 |