2014/12/10 by Alfred L. Roca, Yasuko Ishida, Adam L. Brandt +3 · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · #African elephant #Ancient DNA #Asian elephant #Biology #Ecology #Elephas #Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock #Genetic diversity and population structure #Genetics #Mammoth #Mitochondrial DNA #Nuclear DNA #Paleontology #Population #Proboscidea #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation #Zoology
paper · doi:10.1146/annurev-animal-022114-110838
openalex publication_date 2014/12/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15
We review DNA-based studies of elephants and recently extinct proboscideans. The evidence indicates that little or no nuclear gene flow occurs between African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) and African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis), establishing that they comprise separate species. In all elephant species, males disperse, whereas females remain with their natal social group, leading to discordance in the phylogeography of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA patterns. Improvements in ancient DNA methods have permitted sequences to be generated from an increasing number of proboscidean fossils and have definitively established that the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is the closest living relative of the extinct woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius). DNA-based methods have been developed to determine the geographic provenance of confiscated ivory in an effort to aid the conservation of elephants.