could u show pictures as well plez
jwa1107 Posted: Sep 22 2003, 11:10 AM
there are three living species of elephants
African Savannah Elephants(Loxodonta africana), African Forest Elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) & Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus)
robbieb Posted: Sep 22 2003, 01:57 PM
i remberm reading a article at a animal planet site and it said that elephants in west africa may soon be clasified as a new spicies of elephant due to genitice difrences that were created durring a natural barriar between them and other elephants
superlion Posted: Sep 22 2003, 03:29 PM
(That would be the African Forest Elephant jwa mentioned....
African Savannah Elephant click for pic!
African Forest Elephant click for pic!
Asiatic Elephant click for pic!
jwa1107 Posted: Sep 23 2003, 09:41 AM
also, check out J. Mand's avatar for the ZT Asian elephant!
Blackhorse Posted: Sep 25 2003, 11:07 AM
Whoa, that forest elephant is weird-looking... 8O
Capt.Rutlinger Posted: Sep 25 2003, 11:13 AM
it's smaller and has shorter 'teeth' that's because otherwise it is difficult to move in a dense wooded area
Wolfyu Posted: Sep 26 2003, 09:36 PM
At my first look at the Forest Elephant I immediatly thought: "Emaciated", but now that Captain Rutlinger said his oppinion, I must agree with him. I don't think I've ever seen a picture of a Forest Elephant besides that one. Cool! I learned something new about animals today!
Capt.Rutlinger Posted: Sep 28 2003, 02:26 AM
here's a other pic
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/images/ ... ts.sml.jpg
professorpaul Posted: Oct 12 2003, 03:40 AM
In 1906 German zoologist Theodore Noack described a dwarf form of african elephant,Loxodonta pumilio.One was kept in the Bronx Zoo for many years & it's skull has been preserved.Another specimen was kept at Kinshasha Zoo in Zaire for ten years from 1960 to 1970.They have also been photgraphed.
They are known to natives as the Red Elephant,the Forest Elephant being known as the Blue Elephant.Pygmy elephants are said to stand 6 feet at the shoulder as opposed to the 7-8ft of the Forest Elephant
http://www.geocities.com/capedrevenger/ ... phant.html
jwa1107 Posted: Oct 13 2003, 08:52 AM
Loxodonta pumilio is not yet generally accepted as a true species...
however, a debate still goes on whether or not there are 2 or 3 African species...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2282801.stm
jwa1107 Posted: Oct 13 2003, 08:55 AM
but there is a subspecies of Asian elephants from the island of Borneo which the WWF confirmed last month and Malaysia is preparing to capture some for East Asian zoos...
professorpaul Posted: Oct 14 2003, 01:22 AM
That was why is used the term "is said" regarding the Pygmy Elephant.Im following the debate quite closely but most recent reports have indicated subtle behavioural differences too.
Theres are growing tendency in the zoological world towards splitting species,for example they are now saying the Eastern & Western Lowland Gorillas are seperate,not subspecies.
superlion Posted: Oct 14 2003, 11:07 AM
Ah, they're taxonomists... in a few years they'll be changing their minds again
G2K Posted: Oct 14 2003, 11:32 AM
very true superlion
i suspect many of you know the terrible story of the red pandas!
IS IT A BEAR?
IS IT A RACOON?
IS IT IN A NEW FAMILY WITH THE GIANT PANDAS?
arrrrrrrrrgh make up your mind
robbieb Posted: Oct 14 2003, 02:14 PM
if i rember correctly it is now in a seprate group of aimals all by it self
Wolfyu Posted: Oct 14 2003, 03:14 PM
I know nothing about the classification of red pandas. Robbie's post makes sense, though. It doesn't really...uh...'belong' with many other animals.
Some taxonomists recently reclassifyed the domestic dog as a subspecies of wolf (the dogs classification would be: Canis lupus familiaris). It should've been that way all along!
superlion Posted: Oct 14 2003, 04:32 PM
However, some people believe that the domestic dog is a hybrid of more than one wild canid species. Possibly different breeds having genetic material from different species. So the dog is still in limbo, so to speak.
jwa1107 Posted: Oct 15 2003, 07:35 AM
right now the commonly accepted taxonomy for red panda is:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Procyonidae
Genus: Ailurus
Species: fulgens
There are two subspecies, A. f. fulgens which lives in the Himalayas and southern Tibet, and A. f. slyani in southwestern China and northern Burma.
newer classifications have the
Family: Ursidae
Subfamily: Ailurinae
Procyonidae is raccoons and coatimundis and the like; all New World species except the red panda which is why some classify it with giant pandas and the bears in Ursidae.