"E. caucasicum" was first described by Russian palaeontologist Aleksei Borissiak in 1914, who said it apparently flourished in the Black Sea region as a member of the Early Pleistocene Tamanian Faunal Unit (1.1–0.8 Ma, Taman Peninsula). It is the most commonly found mammal of the assemblage. "E. caucasicum" is thought to be more primitive than "E. sibiricum" and perhaps represents an ancestral stock. It is also known in northern China from the Early Pleistocene Nihewan Faunal assemblage and were extinct at approximately 1.6 Ma. This suggests "Elasmotherium" developed separately in Russia and China.