Elephas este unul din cele două genuri extante din familia Elephantidae, ordinul Proboscidea, având o singură specie supraviețuitoare, elefantul asiatic (Elephas maximus).
Câteva specii dispărute au fost identificate ca făcând parte din gen, printre care Elephas recki, Elephas antiquus, Elephas falconeri și Elephas cypriotes. Genul Elephas este foarte apropiat de genul Mammuthus.Fleischer, R. C.; Perry, E. A.; Muralidharan, K.; Stevens, E. E.; Wemmer, C. M. (2001). Phylogeography of the Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) based on mitochondrial DNA . Evolution 55(9): 1882–1892
Taxonomie Elephas este clasificat ca făcând parte din ordinul Proboscidea, familia Elephantidae și conține o specie existenă în viață și 10 specii dispărute:Maglio, V.J. (1973). Origin and evolution of the Elephantidae. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society Philadelphia Volume 63. American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia. Pp. 149 Elephas maximus; Elephas maximus indicus Elephas maximus maximus Elephas maximus sumatranus Elephas maximus borneensisFernando, P., Vidya, T.N.C., Payne, J., Stuewe, M., Davison, G., et al. (2003). DNA Analysis Indicates That Asian Elephants Are Native to Borneo and Are Therefore a High Priority for Conservation. PLoS Biol 1 (1): e6 Elephas maximus rubridens † Elephas maximus asurus † Elephas beyeri †Von Königswald, G. H. R. (1956). Fossil mammals from the Philippines. National Research Council of the Philippines, Manila Elephas celebensis †Hooijer, D.A. (1949). Pleistocene Vertebrates from Celebes. IV. - Archidiskodon celebensis nov spec.. Zoologische Mededelingen Museum Leiden, 30 (14): 205–226. Elephas ekorensis Elephas falconeri †Busk, G. (1867). Description of the remains of three extinct species of elephant, collected by Capt. Spratt, C.B.R.N., in the ossiferous cavern of Zebbug, in the island of Malta. Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, 6: 227–306. Elephas hysudricus †Falconer, H. Cautley, P. T. (1846). Fauna Antiqua Sivalensis, Being the Fossil Zoology of the Sewalik Hills. Smith, Elder & Company, London. Pp. 64. Elephas hysudrindicus †Hooijer, D. A. (1955). Fossil Proboscidea from the Malay Archipelago and the Punjab. Zoologische Verhandelingen, 28 (1): 1–146. Elephas iolensis † Elephas planifrons † Elephas platycephalus † Elephas recki †Todd, N. E. (2001). African Elephas recki: Time, space and taxonomy. In: Cavarretta, G., Gioia, P., Mussi, M. and M. R. Palombo. The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, pp. 693–697.Todd, N. E. (2005). Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: Implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International Volumes 126–128: 65–72. Elephas recki atavus † Elephas recki brumpti † Elephas recki ileretensis † Elephas recki illertensis † Elephas recki recki † Elephas recki shungurensis †
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Categorie:Taxoni clasificați de Carl Linnaeus