Elephantidae

/ˌɛləfænˈtaɪdi/ noun

Definition

The taxonomic family name for elephants, including all living and extinct elephant species.

Etymology

From Latin/Greek 'elephas' (elephant) plus the suffix '-idae,' the standard scientific naming convention for animal families established by Carl Linnaeus.

Kelly Says

Elephantidae is one of the most heavily studied families in paleontology because elephant fossils are huge, durable, and abundant—giving us the clearest fossil record of any land mammal family going back millions of years!

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