''Loxodonta exoptata'' is an extinct species of

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

in the genus '' Loxodonta'', from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. A 2009 study suggested that ''Loxodonta exoptata'' gave rise to '' L. atlantica'', which gave rise to '' L. africana''.The Anatomical Record: Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology Volume 293, Issue 1, Article first published online: 20 NOV 2009: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.21010/pdf, retrieved 2 December 2011. The molars of ''L. exoptata'' are distinguished from later loxodonts by the lower plate number and their specialized enamel loops.Jon E. Kalb, Assefa Mebrate (1993). ''Fossil elephantoids from the hominid-bearing Awash Group, Middle Awash Valley, Afar Depression, Ethiopia''. Fossil remains of ''L. exoptata'' have been found at

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Laetoli Laetoli is a pre-historic site located in Enduleni ward of Ngorongoro District in Arusha Region, Tanzania. The site is dated to the Plio-Pleistocene and famous for its Hominina footprints, preserved in volcanic ash. The site of the Laetoli fo ...

and

Koobi Fora Koobi Fora refers primarily to a region around Koobi Fora Ridge, located on the eastern shore of Lake Turkana in the territory of the nomadic Gabbra people. According to the National Museums of Kenya, the name comes from the Gabbra language: ...

References

Prehistoric elephants Pliocene proboscideans Pliocene extinctions Pliocene mammals of Africa Fossil taxa described in 1941 {{paleo-proboscidean-stub