Mycobacterium elephantis, a bacterium of the family Mycobacteriaceae, was discovered and isolated from a deceased elephant near India and may be linked to respiratory dysfunction.

[1][4] Shojaei et al. discovered this bacterial species from a lung of a deceased elephant due to chronic respiratory disease in Sri Lanka, an island off the south end of India in the year 2000.

[6][7] The organism is host associated with mammals, suggested by the first isolation in the lung abscess of an elephant diagnosed with chronic respiratory disease in Sri Lanka.

[8] Through 16S rRNA gene sequencing, this Gram positive bacteria correlates to the Genus Mycobacterium; but high-performance liquid chromatography and PCR-restriction enzyme pattern analysis identifies a new species.

[4] The phenotype shows a coccobacillary acid-fast organism when cultured in 12B broth and Löwenstein-Jensen solid medium.

[4] On Middlebrooke 7H10 agar, strain DSM 44368 of Mycobacterium elephantis shows this previously stated morphology as well as another described as cream colored.

[1] M. elephantis is catalase, nitrate reductase, and urease positive as well as weakly acid alcohol fast.

[8] The 484t strain's (same as DSM 44368) 16S rRNA gene sequence as compared to other rapid growing mycobacterium showed a mean 96.7+ 0.5% similarity.

[1] Mycobacterium elephantis has the potential to impact diagnostic evaluation when patients display untraceable tuberculosis symptoms.