Elephants belong to the order Proboscidea-animals with trunks. Proboscidea is Greek for “having a nose.”
At various times, proboscideans have lived on each of the continents on earth except Australia and Antarctica.
The trunk may have initially evolved to serve as a snorkel, allowing the animal to spend long periods under the water's surface. In modern elephants the trunk serves as extra “arm and hand” for gathering food that would otherwise be hard to reach.
Though there have been scores of species in the order, only two have survived into recent times.
Elephants evolved primarily in the Old World and came to North America during a series of migrations. The immigrant elephants evolved into new North American forms but ultimately all these elephants were extinct by 10,000 years ago.
Why did all the other families of the order Proboscidea go extinct? Evidence suggests that North American mammoths and mastodons were hunted to extinction by the first humans to reach the continent. Some scientists also argue that warming climate played a role in their extinction.
Paleo sleuths continue to piece together the mystery of why some species vanish and other go on.
The Evolution-tree
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Nature