''Palaeoloxodon recki'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

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 an ...

native to Africa during the Pliocene and Pleistocene. At up to 14 feet (4.27 metres) in shoulder height, it was one of the largest elephant species to have ever lived. It is believed that ''P. recki'' ranged throughout Africa between 3.5 and 1 million years ago. ''P. recki'' was a successful grass-eating elephant until it became extinct, perhaps by competition with members of the genus '' Loxodonta'', the African elephants of today. Its descendant taxon, "''Elephas" jolensis'' persisted into the late

Middle Pleistocene The Chibanian, widely known by its previous designation of Middle Pleistocene, is an age in the international geologic timescale or a stage in chronostratigraphy, being a division of the Pleistocene Epoch within the ongoing Quaternary Period. The ...

, c. 205-130 kya in Kenya, after which it was replaced by ''Loxodonta africana'' after a severe drought period. ''P. recki'' is believed to be the ancestral species from which the ''

Palaeoloxodon ''Palaeoloxodon'' is an extinct genus of elephant. The genus originated in Africa during the Pliocene era, and expanded into Eurasia during the Pleistocene era. The genus contains some of the largest known species of elephants, over four metres t ...

'' species of Eurasia are derived. A male of ''P. recki'' from Koobi Fora was 40 years old when it died. At that age it was tall and weighed . The species is known from the Middle Atlas of Morocco.

Subspecies

M. Beden identified five subspecies of ''Palaeoloxodon recki'', from oldest to youngest: * ''P. r. brumpti'' Beden, 1980 * ''P. r. shungurensis'' Beden, 1980 * ''P. r. atavus'' Arambourg, 1947 * ''P. r. ileretensis'' Beden, 1987 * ''P. r. recki'' (Dietrich, 1916) New research indicates that the ranges for all five subspecies overlap, and that they are not separated in time as previously proposed. The research also found a wide range of morphological variation, both between the supposed subspecies and between different specimens previously identified as belonging to the same subspecies. The degree of temporal and geographical overlap, along with the morphological variation in ''P. recki'' suggests that the relationships between any subspecies are more complicated than previously indicated.Todd, N. E. 2005. Reanalysis of African Elephas recki: implications for time, space and taxonomy. Quaternary International 126-128:65-72.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q693352 Palaeoloxodon Pliocene proboscideans Pleistocene proboscideans Pleistocene species extinctions Pliocene mammals of Africa Pleistocene mammals of Africa Fossil taxa described in 1894