Palaeoloxodon recki

Palaeoloxodon recki, often known by the synonym Elephas recki is an extinct species of elephant native to Africa and West Asia from the Pliocene or Early Pleistocene (depending on what subspecies are included) to the Middle Pleistocene. During most of its existence, the species in its broadest sense (which may not be monophyletic) represented the dominant elephant species in East Africa. While the type subspecies P. recki recki as well as P. recki ileretensis are widely accepted to be closely related to Eurasian Palaeoloxodon, the relationships of the other, chronologically earlier subspecies to P. recki recki and P. recki ileretensis are uncertain, with it being suggested they are unrelated and should be elevated to separate species.