ELEPHANT, the designation of the two existing representatives of the _Proboscidea_, a sub-order of ungulate mammals, and also extended to include their more immediate extinct relatives. As the distinctive characteristics of the sub-order, and also of the single existing genus _Elephas_, are given in the article PROBOSCIDEA, it will suffice to point out how the two existing species are distinguished from one another. The more specialized of the two species is the Indian or Asiatic elephant, _Elephas maximus_, specially characterized by the extreme complexity of the structure of its molar teeth, which are composed of a great number of tall and thin plates of enamel and dentine, with the intervals filled by cement (see PROBOSCIDEA, fig. 1). The average number of plates of the six successive molar teeth may be expressed by the "ridge-formula" 4, 8, 12, 12, 16, 24. The plates are compressed from before backwards, the anterior and posterior surfaces (as seen in the worn grinding face of the tooth) being nearly parallel. Ears of moderate size. Upper margin of the end of the proboscis developed into a distinct finger-like process, much longer than the lower margins, and the whole trunk uniformly tapering and smooth. Five nails on the fore-feet, and four (occasionally five) on the hind-feet. The Asiatic elephant inhabits the forest-lands of India, Burma, the Malay Peninsula, Cochin China, Ceylon and Sumatra. Elephants from the last-named islands present some variations from those of the mainland, and have been separated under the names of _E. zeylonicus_ and _E. sumatranus_, but they are not more than local races, and the Ceylon animal, which is generally tuskless, may be the typical _E. maximus_, in which case the Indian race will be _E. maximus indicus_. The appearance of the Asiatic elephant is familiar to all. In the wild state it is gregarious, associating in herds of ten, twenty or more individuals, and, though it may under certain circumstances become dangerous, it is generally inoffensive and even timid, fond of shade and solitude and the neighbourhood of water. The height of the male at the shoulder when full grown is usually from 8 to 10 ft., occasionally as much as 11, and possibly even more. The female is somewhat smaller. [Illustration: FIG. 1. Asiatic Elephant (_Elephas maximus_).] The following epitome of the habits of the Asiatic elephants is extracted from _Great and Small Game of India and Tibet_, by R. Lydekker:--