Which elephant species is the only living species in the genus Elephas?

The Asian elephant is the only living species in the genus Elephas.

Its scientific name is Elephas maximus, and the genus name distinguishes it from Africa’s living elephants, which belong to Loxodonta. Although mammoths are extinct, genetic evidence shows that they are more closely related to Asian elephants than to African elephants, making the living Elephas lineage particularly important in elephant evolution.

Three widely recognised subspecies are the Indian elephant, the Sri Lankan elephant and the Sumatran elephant. A Borneo population is sometimes proposed as a fourth subspecies, but its taxonomic status remains debated. These forms are all classified within the single living species E. maximus.

Woolly mammoths are not living Elephas species: they belong to the extinct genus Mammuthus. The African forest elephant and African bush elephant are also separate species in Loxodonta. The Asian elephant is therefore the canonical answer both taxonomically and in a standard quiz, even though the genus once included several extinct species.