Asian elephant

[ ey-zhuhn el-uh-fuhnt, ey-shuhn ]

noun

1. an elephant ( Elephas maximus ) of Southeast Asia, the only extant species of its genus, with the Borneo elephant, Indian elephant, Sri Lankan elephant, and Sumatran elephant as subspecies, all of which are endangered, and whose cognitive function is noteworthy as, among all land animals, it has the greatest volume of cerebral cortex: compared to an African elephant, an Asian elephant is smaller and has much smaller ears, an indented rather than domed head, a trunk ending in one finger rather than two, and conspicuous tusks occurring only in the males.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Asian elephant¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Viola, an Asian elephant with the Jordan World Circus, still participated in two performances Tuesday after her time on the lam in the southwestern Montana city of about 35,000 people that in the late 1800s was the world’s largest copper-producing area.

From Seattle Times

Those would, in turn, be placed into living Asian elephant mothers to produce shaggy beasts unlike any seen in 4,000 years.

From Slate

The country used to be one of the major homes for the Asian elephant but poaching and habitat loss has caused a marked decrease in their numbers.

From BBC

The study is part of the zoo's Project Elephant, which aims to preserve the Asian elephant species.

From BBC

When a 55-year-old Asian elephant lost her appetite because of chronic foot problems, veterinarians turned to a novel treatment: a severe case of the munchies.

From New York Times