Palaeoloxodon

Palaeoloxodon is an extinct genus of elephant. It originated in Africa during the Early Pleistocene, and expanded into Eurasia at the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene. Palaeoloxodon contains the largest known species of elephants, with mature bulls over 4 metres (13 ft) tall at the shoulders and over 13 tonnes (29,000 lb) in weight, representing among the largest land mammals ever, including the African Palaeoloxodon recki, the European straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) and the South Asian Palaeoloxodon namadicus. P. namadicus has been suggested to be the largest known land mammal by some authors based on extrapolation from fragmentary remains, though these estimates are highly speculative. In contrast, the genus also contains many species of dwarf elephants (an example of insular dwarfism) on islands in the Mediterranean, some like Palaeoloxodon falconeri less than 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in shoulder height as fully grown adults, making them the smallest elephants known. The genus has a long and complex taxonomic history, and at various times, it has been considered to belong to Loxodonta or Elephas, but today is usually considered a valid and separate genus in its own right.