Resolution of the type material of the Asian elephant, Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758 (Proboscidea, Elephantidae)

摘要

The understanding of Earth’s biodiversity depends critically on the accurate identification and nomenclature ofudspecies. Many species were described centuries ago, and in a surprising number of cases their nomenclature or typeudmaterial remain unclear or inconsistent. A prime example is provided by Elephas maximus, one of the most iconicudand well-known mammalian species, described and named by Linnaeus (1758) and today designating the Asianudelephant. We used morphological, ancient DNA (aDNA), and high-throughput ancient proteomic analyses touddemonstrate that a widely discussed syntype specimen of E. maximus, a complete foetus preserved in ethanol, isudactually an African elephant, genus Loxodonta. We further discovered that an additional E. maximus syntype,udmentioned in a description by John Ray (1693) cited by Linnaeus, has been preserved as an almost complete skeletonudat the Natural History Museum of the University of Florence. Having confirmed its identity as an Asian elephantudthrough both morphological and ancient DNA analyses, we designate this specimen as the lectotype of E. maximus.