Proboscideans
The Proboscidea are a taxonomic order of afrotherian mammals containing one living family and several extinct families. First described by J. Illiger in 1811, it encompasses the elephants and their close relatives. From the mid-Miocene onwards, most proboscideans were very large. The largest land mammal of all time may have been a proboscidean; Palaeoloxodon namadicus was up to 5.2 m at the shoulder and may have weighed up to 22 t, almost double the weight of several sauropods including Diplodocus carnegii and Apatosaurus louisae. The largest extant proboscidean is the African bush elephant, with a record of size of 4 m at the shoulder and 10.4 t. In addition to their enormous size, later proboscideans are distinguished by tusks and long, muscular trunks, which were less developed or absent in early proboscideans.
