The African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) is one of the two living species of African elephant. It is native to humid tropical forests in West Africa and the Congo Basin. It is the smallest of the three living elephant species, reaching a shoulder height of . As with other African elephants, both sexes have straight, down-pointing tusks, which begin to grow once the animals reach 1–3 years old. The forest elephant lives in highly sociable family groups of up to 20 individuals. Since they forage primarily on leaves, seeds, fruit, and tree bark, they have often been referred to as the 'megagardener of the forest'; the species is one of many that contributes significantly to maintaining the composition, diversity and structure of the Guinean Forests of West Africa and the Congolese rainforests. Seeds of various plants will go through the elephant’s digestive tract and eventually pass through in the animal’s droppings (likely in a new location where they will sprout), thus helping to maintain the spread and biodiversity of the forests.
The first scientific description of the species was published in 1900. During the 20th century, overhunting caused a sharp decline in population, and by 2013 it was estimated that less than 30,000 individuals remained. It is threatened by habitat loss, fragmentation, and poaching. The conservation status of populations varies across range countries. Since 2021, the species has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
Taxonomy
Elephas (Loxodonta) cyclotis was the scientific name proposed by Paul Matschie in 1900 who described the skulls of a female and a male specimen collected by the Sanaga River in southern Cameroon.
Phylogeny
The African forest elephant was long considered to be a subspecies of the African elephant, together with the African bush elephant. Morphological and DNA analysis showed that they are two distinct species.
The taxonomic status of the African pygmy elephant (Loxodonta pumilio) was uncertain for a long time. Phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial genome of nine specimens from museum collections indicates that it is an African forest elephant whose diminutive size or early maturity is due to environmental conditions.
Phylogenetic analysis of nuclear DNA of African bush and forest elephants, Asian elephants, woolly mammoths and American mastodons revealed that the African forest elephant and African bush elephant form a sister group that genetically diverged at least 1.9 million years ago. They are therefore considered distinct species. Gene flow between the two species might have occurred after the split, though. DNA from the European straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) indicates that members of the extinct elephant genus Palaeoloxodon interbred with African forest elephants, with around 30% of the nuclear genome as well as the mitochondrial genome of the straight-tusked elephant deriving from that of African forest elephants, with the genomic contribution more closely related to modern West African populations of the forest elephant than to other populations. Further sampling of the mitogenome of Palaeoloxodon, including Chinese Palaeoloxodon individuals found that Palaeoloxodon carried multiple separate mitochondrial lineages derived from forest elephants.
Diagram of the relationships of elephant mitochondrial genomes, after Lin et al. 2023.
Description
Bulls of the species reach a shoulder height of . Females are smaller at about tall at the shoulder. Males weigh , while females only . Foot print size ranges from .
The African forest elephant has grey skin, which looks yellow to reddish after wallowing. It is sparsely covered with black coarse hair, which is long around the tip of the tail. The length of the tail varies between individuals from half the height of the rump to almost touching ground. It has five toenails on the fore foot and four on the hind foot. Its back is nearly straight. Its oval-shaped ears have small elliptical-shaped tips. and the tip of the trunk has two finger-like processes.
The African forest elephant's tusks are straight and point downwards., and are present in both males and females. The African forest elephant has pink tusks, which are thinner and harder than the tusks of the African bush elephant. The length and diameter vary between individuals. Tusks of bulls grow throughout life, tusks of cows cease growing when they are sexually mature. The tusks are used to push through the dense undergrowth of their habitat. Their tusks can grow to about long and can weigh between .