In red shows the present distributaion of elephants today

History

 

The earliest ancestors of the Asian Elephant have first roamed on the earth 50 to 60 million years ago during the Eocene time period. As time passed on, these ancestors have evolved during the Pliocene (5.3- 2.58 million years ago) time period into genuses such as Loxodonta, Elephas and Mammuthus. Asian elephants, belonging to the genus Elephas have first appeared roaming the earth 3 to 4 million years ago, both originating from Africa. Asian and African Elephants (Loxodonta) are both found in the order Proboscidea. Organisms that belong to this order contain trunks and long tusks for feeding and protection. Other examples include the wooly mammoth (Mammuthus) and mastodons (Mammut). Asian and African elephants are the living descendants of the Proboscidea order today. 

African Elephant
(Loxodonta)

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Woolly Mammoth
(Mammuthus)

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Asian Elephant
(Elephas)

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Mastodon
(Mammut)

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Unlike African elephants, Asian elephants have moved from Africa and inhabited most of western and southeast places of the continent of Asia, abundantly in India during the middle of the Pliocene age. Moreover, they remained in Asia ever since the Pleistocene age (2.6 million – 11,700 years ago). Asian Elephants are also found in places like China, Indonesia, Thailand, and Bangladesh.  Wooly mammoths are one of the closest relatives to the Asian elephants. They have existed in North America and areas in Europe like Spain and have evolved for the past 20 million years until their extinction. The most recent fossil discovery of the wooly mammoth dates back to 150, 000 years ago.