The North African Elephant (Loxodonta africana pharaoensis) was a possible subspecies of the African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana), or possibly a separate elephant species, that existed in North Africa until becoming extinct in Ancient Roman times. These were the famous war elephants used by Carthage in the Punic Wars, their conflict with the Roman Republic. Although the subspecies has been formally described, it has not been widely recognized by taxonomists. Originally, its natural range probably extended across North Africa and down to the present Sudanese and Eritrean coasts.
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