Palaeoloxodon namadicus

Palaeoloxodon namadicus or the Asian straight-tusked elephant, was a species of prehistoric elephant that ranged throughout Pleistocene Asia, from India (where it was first discovered) to Japan. Some authorities regard it to be a subspecies of Palaeoloxodon antiquus, the European straight-tusked elephant, due to extreme similarities of the tusks. Their skull structure was also different from that of a modern elephant. The grouping of this genus is supported by cranial synapomorphies with other species of Palaeoloxodon.[1] Later research suggested that P. namadicus can be distinguished from P. antiquus by its less robust limb bones and more stout cranium.[2] Palaeoloxodon namadicus is thought to have become extinct during the Late Pleistocene, making it one of four known megafaunal species native to India known to have become extinct during the Late Pleistocene.[3][4] A late record of approximately 56,000 years Before Present is known from the banks of the Dhasan river on the Ganga plain in Uttar Pradesh.[5] In 2015, a study based on extensive research of fragmentary leg bone fossils suggested that P. namadicus may have been the largest land mammal ever.[6]