Elephant bird "A. maximus" and "D. stirtoni" were revised to 540 and 730 kg, respectively. Four species are usually accepted in the genus "Aepyornis" today, but the validity of some is disputed, with numerous authors treating them all in just one species, "A. maximus". Up to three species are generally included in "Mullerornis". Several ratites outside of Madagascar have been posited as "aepyornithid"-like and could potentially make this clade considerably more speciose. These include "Eremopezus" from the Eocene of North Africa, unnamed Canary Island remains and several Neogene taxa in Eurasia. "Aepyornis maximus" is commonly known as the 'elephant bird', a term
African bush elephant have been extinct by 1995. The protection the elephant now receives has been partially successful, but despite increasingly severe penalties imposed by governments against illegal hunting, poaching is still common. CITES still considers this species as threatened with extinction. The African bush elephant is categorized as a high-risk endangerment animal, with the constant threat of poaching and predators on the rise. With the high demand for ivory in Eastern Asia, the black-market trade network has left the species close to extinction. Poachers target the elephant's tusk for the ivory, and in some cases remove the tusk while the elephant is