Introduction

The Internet Resources

General Information

• Order Proboscidea - This website gives general information about elephants. The website gives information about the physical physique of elephants. Modern elephants have a long, muscular trunk that functions almost as a fifth limb, and males have a pair of huge tusks derived from upper incisors. And also it discusses the life spans of elephants and their social behavior. The website says, 'Elephants live long lives (60-70 years). They have a complex social system that involves groups of related individuals led by mature females.' This site would be good for a student in Middle School or High School. I would rate this site 5 out of 5 elephants.

• Elephants - The site has numerous links to information about specific elephants. For instance, it has a link for data on the Asian elephant. It says, 'The Asian elephant is slightly smaller in size than the African elephant. It can grow to be 8-10 ft in height and 18-20 ft in length. It is tallest at the arch of the back. It weighs up to 11 000 pounds.' It also gives a general description about the Order Proboscidea. This site would be helpful for someone who was doing research on specific elephants but would not be helpful for someone looking for general information on elephants. I would rate would rate this site 3 out of 5 elephants.

• Family: Elephantidae - It gives specific information about elephants. It talks about their weight, it says that, ' male wt 11,000 lb, up to 13,200 lb (5000 6000 kg), ht 9 ft 10 in to 11 ft (3 3.3 m); female wt 6600-7700 lb (3000-3500 kg), ht 8 ft 4 in (2.5 m).' It gives specific information about African Elephants and African Forest Elephants. The website has numerous links about elephants. This site would be beneficial to a person who was trying to find research on elephants and wanted to find links to other websites that include data on the species. I would recommend this site to someone of a higher education. This site rates a 4 out of 5 elephants.

• Brief General Information on Elephants - It talks about elephants body types, symmetry, life cycle, evolutionary cycles. The website does not have much information, only a few sentences are written about each sub-topic. However, the language written is very simple and common. So this website would be a good help to an elementary school student. I would rate this site 2 out of 5 elephants.

Physical Features of Elephants

• The Structure of Elephants - This website contains many pictures of elephants. It has information about elephant teeth, feet, tusk. The website gives much information about the structure of elephants. For example did you know that the skull is very 'solid' and heavy and both jaws are deep to accomodate the huge teeth and they are also very short for such a large animal? This site has sufficient information and a student of a high education would benefit from using this site for research. This website gets 4 out of 5 elephants.

• Diagnostic Characterstics of Elephants - It talks about the Diagnostic Characteristics of elephants. For example, the most conspicuous feature of elephants - other than their large size - is the flexible, muscular trunk, an extension of the nose and upper lip, with the nostrils located at the tip. It discusses about where elephants live. It tells about where the word proboscidea comes from. Also, it has a map and a picture of an elephant. I would rate this site a 3.5 out of 5 elephants.

• Physical Features of Elephants - This website has a lot about the physical features of elephants. The website has no pictures but has sufficient information. It discusses the habits which elephants live. It says,'The living proboscideans occupy a variety of habitats but generally live in forests, savannahs, and river valleys.' I would rate this site a 4 out of 5 elephants if one was looking for the characterstics of elephants.

• Proboscidea - Eat with Nose Mammals - The website has a few photos of elephants. There is a picture of elephants relaxing in a river and a group of elephants having a mud bath. Also, it has key facts about the species such as the height of the animal. The website has much information about the animal. It has about seven paragraphs about general information about the species. This site gets 2.5 out of 5 elephants.

Specific Information on Types of Elephants

• Specific Types of Elephants - The site contains lists of the different types of elephants. It tells about the different type of Asian and African elephants. There is a photograph of an elephant. The website does not contain much information but would be beneficial to someone who was looking different species of elephants. This site would be helpful for an elementary school student and I woudl rate this site 2 out of 5 elephants.

• Evolution of Elephants - It discusses the evolution of elephants. It states 'About 50-60 million years ago, the ancestors of the modern elephant occupied a variety of extreme environments; this includes from tropical rain forests to deserts in both low and high altitudes.' It has different pictures and drawings of elephants. This site gets 3 out of 5 elephants.

• Elephants - The webite has numerous sub-topics of elephants such as 'The elephant Family', 'Elephant Features... Ears, Trunk, and Conservation.' It has a tons of general information of on the physical features of elephants. I would rate this site 4 out of 5 elephants.

Pictures

• African Elephant Picture Gallery - This website contains numerous photos of elephants. It has six pages filled pictures of different types of elephants. The pictures are show the elephants in their natural surroundings. For example, there are photographs of two elephants bathing in a river and there is another picture of elephant fossils. This gets 5 out of 5 elephants!