Elephants belong to the biological order Proboscidea, a group of large terrestrial mammals characterized by an elongated proboscis (trunk), columnar limbs, and tusks derived from upper incisors. Modern Proboscidea are represented solely by the family Elephantidae, which includes African and Asian elephants, while the order historically encompassed diverse extinct lineages such as mammoths and mastodons (in related families). Proboscideans exhibit complex social structures, advanced cognitive capacities, and long lifespans, and they are primarily herbivorous. Their evolutionary history, biogeography, and morphological specializations make Proboscidea a key model for studying macroevolution, adaptive radiations, and mammalian gigantism.
Elephants can communicate with other elephants across distances of up to five kilometers (3 miles) by producing sounds that travel through the air. However, they have a second way of sending signals: seismic waves traveling ...
Plants & Animals
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Within every muscle of every living species with a backbone, a protein called myosin tugs on a partner protein to generate a muscle contraction. This function, discovered in mammals a century ago, has been presumed by scientists ...
Evolution
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A study predicts increasing human-elephant conflict in Southern Africa. A growing number of farmers and 290,000 African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) share space in Southern Africa, with conflicts arising from elephants ...
Ecology
Jul 7, 2026
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A new analysis sheds light on the most likely route for the Carthaginian general's famous crossing of the Alps. The study, led by the University of Oxford and iDiv/Friedrich Schiller University Jena, reveals that the Col ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 6, 2026
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Above the patter of rain cascading through the jungle canopy comes the haunting call of a pileated gibbon singing to fend off intruders in Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains.
Ecology
Jun 25, 2026
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If drought in an area persists longer, elephants move closer to areas near human settlements. This is the finding of research by biologist Irene Bouwman of Radboud University. During short-term droughts, the animals remain ...
Ecology
Jun 23, 2026
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Patterns reveal the individual: A novel AI algorithm equips researchers with a powerful new tool to accurately identify individual jaguars, zebras and giraffes in real time based on their unique coat patterns. Biologists ...
Ecology
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A shift toward more precise, measurable conservation goals could hold the key to protecting vulnerable species, according to the findings of a new study looking at African elephants. Conservationists are often faced with ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 9, 2026
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When we think of wildlife trafficking, we might think of rhino horns or baby orangutans sold as pets—but the smuggling of sea creatures, a less well-known crime, is just as damaging to marine ecosystems. Unfortunately, many ...
Ecology
Jun 7, 2026
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For decades, ecologists have theorized that the extinction of one important species could set off a chain reaction of losses throughout an ecosystem. Now, new research offers some of the clearest real-world evidence that ...
Plants & Animals
May 29, 2026
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