There has long been debate in the scientific community that the two might be separate species, but this is the most convincing scientific evidence so far that they are indeed different species.

　　Previously, many naturalists believed that African savanna elephants and African forest elephants were two populations of the same species, despite the elephants’ significant size differences. The savanna elephant has an average shoulder height of 3. 5 metres while the forest elephant has an average shoulder height of 2. 5 metres. The savanna elephant weighs between six and seven tons, roughly double the weight of the forest elephant. But the fact that they look so different does not necessarily mean they are different species. However the proof lay in the analysis of the DNA.

　　Alfred Roca, assistant professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois, said, “We now have to treat the forest and savanna elephants as two different units for conservation purposes. Since 1950, all African elephants have been conserved as one species. Now that we know the forest and savanna elephants are two very distinctive animals, the forest elephant should become a bigger priority (优先) for conservation purposes.”

　　1. One of the fossils studied by the researchers is that of　.　

　　A. the Asian elephant　B. the forest elephant

　　C. the savanna elephantD. the mastodon elephant

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