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African elephant vision: the science and the numbers

Loxodonta africana · order Proboscidea · Mammals: all the numbers

The African elephant has 2 colour receptor classes (419 and 552 nm): mainly blues and yellows; reds and greens look alike.[1] Its sharpest vision resolves 8.63 cycles per degree, against 63.75 for people in this dataset.[5][6]

See it on your photoBack to How does the African elephant see?
  • 2colour receptor classesMeasured
  • 8.63cycles per degree (sharpness)Measured

The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is a mammal in the order Proboscidea. Its eyes belong to the vision type Grazing ungulate panorama: two cone types, a horizontal band of sharp vision and a near-panoramic field with a blind area behind the head. Measured in this species: colour, sharpness, foveas and night vision. Measured core: measured values on at least 3 of the 6 dials.

This is a simulation built from published eye measurements, not what the animal experiences.

Method: How we know what animals see (the See Like Animals vision engine) · Sources · Last updated . Every value below carries its evidence level and sources; nothing is typed by hand.

What the African elephant sees: colour receptors

African elephant colour receptor peaks, 300 to 700 nmAfrican elephant: 2 receptor peaks at 419, 552 nm; you: 3 at 421.5, 532, 558.4 nm. ultraviolet300400500600700
African elephant: 419, 552 nmPeople: 421.5, 532, 558.4 nmWavelength in nanometres

What stands out

  • It has two colour receptor classes (a dichromat): reds and greens fall on one axis, as in red-green colour blindness in people.
  • Its sharpest vision resolves 8.63 cycles per degree: the finest stripe pattern it can tell apart from grey.
  • Activity pattern: cathemeral.

The six dials

Evidence levels: how the tiers work. "Measured" means a value measured in this species; "Estimated" values come from a close relative or an eye-size formula. The last column gives the values for people from the same catalogue.

Vision values for the African elephant (Loxodonta africana), catalogue-v1
DialValueEvidenceSourcesPeople
ColourColour receptors
2 receptor classes: 419 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 552 nm (LWS (long))
measured in this species
Measured[1]Colour receptors: 3 receptor classes: 421.5 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 532 nm (MWS (green)), 558.4 nm (LWS (long)) Measured (not re-verified)[1][2][3][4]
SharpnessAcuity
8.63 cycles per degree
median of 2 anatomical-ganglion rows (method priority rule)
Measured[5][6]Acuity: 63.75 cycles per degree Measured[7][6]
Field of viewBinocular overlap
80°
median of 1 relatives in family Elephantidae: Elephas maximus
Estimated[8]Binocular overlap: 122.5° Measured[9][8]
Total field of view: 200° Measured (not re-verified)[10]
Blind area behind the head: 160° Derived[10]
Eye placement: frontal Derived[9][8]
Total field of view
350°
group default: median total field of vision type the "Grazing ungulate panorama" type within phylum Chordata in species-v1: Equus caballus
Group default[11]
Sharp zones (foveas)Number of foveas
0
fovea_present / area_centralis_type (retinal topography; count 1 = fovea present, 0 = none)
Measured[12]Number of foveas: 1 Measured[12]
Fovea type: fovea Measured[12]
Fovea type
anakatabatic area, area centralis, horizontal streak		Measured[12]
Night visionActivity pattern
cathemeral
mode of 11 rows (of 11 rows): arrhythmic/cathemeral; cathemeral; diurnal; mesopic
Measured (not re-verified)[13][14][15][16][17][1][18][19][20][21]Activity pattern: diurnal Measured (not re-verified)[14][16][17][1][18][19][20][21]
Pupil shape: vertical Group default[15][22]
Reflective layer (tapetum): no Measured[23]
Rods vs cones: cone-dominated Derived[14][16][17][1][18][19][20][21]
Rods vs cones
mixed
nocturnal -> rod-dominated; crepuscular / cathemeral / mixed -> mixed; diurnal -> cone-dominated
Derived[13][14][15][16][17][1][18][19][20][21]
Motion (flicker fusion)Flicker fusion frequency
60 Hz
median of 21 relatives in class Mammalia: Rattus norvegicus, Cavia porcellus, Mus musculus, Felis catus, Macaca mulatta, Macaca nemestrina
Group default[24][25][26][27]Flicker fusion frequency: 60 Hz Measured[25][26]

All mammals side by side: Mammals: every measurement. Method: how we know what animals see.

Sources

  1. Longcore 2023
  2. Kirwan
  3. Müller et al. 2009
  4. Thermal Activation and Photoactivation of Visual… 2004
  5. Kirk et al. 2004
  6. Veilleux et al. 2014
  7. Kirk et al. 2004
  8. Heffner et al. 1992
  9. Heesy 2004
  10. Campbell & Green 1965
  11. Timney & Keil 1992
  12. Kopania et al. 2025
  13. Cheng et al. 2019
  14. Anderson et al. 2017
  15. Banks et al. 2015
  16. Borges et al. 2018
  17. Wilman et al. 2014
  18. Maor et al. 2017
  19. Jones et al. 2009
  20. Schmitz et al. 2011
  21. Moura et al. 2024
  22. Cervino et al. 2021
  23. Guareschi et al. 2025
  24. Haarlem et al. 2026
  25. Healy et al. 2013
  26. Inger et al. 2014
  27. Lafitte et al. 2022

Every value cites its sources (all sources). Values were extracted from these works and converted (units, medians, derived values); changes are ours, and the listed sources do not endorse this site. Data: catalogue-v1, built 2026-09-29. Accuracy notes: how accurate is this? Method: how we know.