What are an African elephant’s tusks modified from?

An African elephant’s tusks are modified incisors.

They are enlarged upper incisor teeth that grow continuously throughout much of an elephant’s life. Both male and female African elephants can develop tusks, although females in some populations have very small tusks or none visible externally.

Elephants use tusks for digging, stripping bark, moving objects, and displaying dominance. Tusks also help expose mineral-rich soil and reach water during dry periods. Their size and shape vary with age, sex, genetics, and habitat.

Tusks are not horns: horns grow from a bony core or the skin and are not teeth. They are also different from the smaller, hidden teeth that elephants use to grind vegetation. Illegal ivory hunting targets these modified incisors, and poaching has changed the frequency of tuskless elephants in some populations.