Elephantidae is the only extant family in the Proboscidea order and contains the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. The forest elephant was considered a subspecies of the bush elephant, but DNA analysis has shown enough differences to support classifying them as separate species. Differences between the Asian and African elephant are broader in scope than those of the bush and forest elephant. The highest point on the Asian variety is the back; the African elephant is tallest at the shoulders. The stomach of the Asian elephant is straight or sags slightly in the middle; the African elephant’s stomach slopes down towards the hind legs. The ears of an Asian elephant are small and do not cover the neck area; the ears of an African elephant are large and cover the neck. The number ribs, toes, and trunk fingers are also different for each species.
