An elephant has 56 chromosomes. That is the diploid number. This means that an elephant has 28 pairs of chromosomes. The ancestor of elephants, the mammoth had 58 chromosomes.
In contrast, humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes (which is a total of 46 chromosomes). It might seem that the number of chromosomes in an elephant is indicative of its size. However, that is not true because algae has 148 chromosomes and just imagine the size difference between an algae and an elephant!!
The largest number of chromosomes in a known species is 1200 or 1260 which is found in the fern, Ophioglossum reticulatum, while the highest for a mammal is 94 in Ichthyomys pittieri which is a semi-aquatic rodent.
In contrast, humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes (which is a total of 46 chromosomes). It might seem that the number of chromosomes in an elephant is indicative of its size. However, that is not true because algae has 148 chromosomes and just imagine the size difference between an algae and an elephant!!
The largest number of chromosomes in a known species is 1200 or 1260 which is found in the fern, Ophioglossum reticulatum, while the highest for a mammal is 94 in Ichthyomys pittieri which is a semi-aquatic rodent.
