forest elephant

noun

: an African elephant of central and western rain forests that is sometimes considered a species (Loxodonta cyclotis) or subspecies (Loxodonta africana cyclotis) distinct from the savanna elephant

Africa's reclusive forest elephants and the herds that trundle across its savannas are as genetically distinct as leopards are from lions, and thus should be reclassified as separate species, geneticists say.

—Andrew C. Revkin, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2001

Word History

First Known Use

1911, in the meaning defined above

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