''Primelephas'' is a genus of Elephantinae that existed during the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

and

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus.'' They lived from the late Miocene epoch (from around 6.2 million years ago) into the Holocene until about 4,000 years ago, with mammoth species at various times inhabi ...

s, and the closely allied genera ''

Elephas ''Elephas'' is a genus of elephants and one of two surviving genera in the Family (biology), family Elephantidae, comprising one extant species, the Asian elephant (''E. maximus''). Several extinct species have been identified as belonging to t ...

'' and '' Loxodonta'', the Asian and African elephants, diverging some 4-6 million years ago. It had four tusks, which is a trait not shared with its descendants, but common in earlier proboscideans. The type species, ''Primelephas gomphotheroides'', was described by Vincent Maglio in 1970, with the specific epithet indicating the fossil specimens were

gomphothere Gomphotheres are an extinct group of proboscideans related to modern elephants. First appearing in Africa during the Oligocene, they dispersed into Eurasia and North America during the Miocene and arrived in South America during the Pleistocene a ...

-like. ''Primelephas korotorensis'' is the only other species to be assigned to the genus. All fossils found of the Primelephas have been found in Africa, primarily in modern day Chad, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda.

References

Elephantidae Pliocene proboscideans Miocene proboscideans Prehistoric elephants Prehistoric placental genera Neogene mammals of Africa Fossil taxa described in 1970 {{paleo-proboscidean-stub Miocene mammals of Africa Pliocene mammals of Africa