[9] Elephantids are typically sexually dimorphic, with substantially larger males, with an accelerated growth rate over a longer period of time than females.

[15] Around 10 million years ago, the earliest members of the family Elephantidae emerged in Africa, having originated from gomphotheres.

[16] The earliest members of the modern genera of Elephantidae appeared during the latest Miocene–early Pliocene around 5 million years ago.

The elephantid genera Elephas (which includes the living Asian elephant) and Mammuthus (mammoths) migrated out of Africa during the late Pliocene, around 3.6 to 3.2 million years ago.

[18] At the end of the Early Pleistocene, around 800,000 years ago the elephantid genus Palaeoloxodon dispersed outside of Africa, becoming widely distributed in Eurasia.