Trunk


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Definition of Trunk
(Scientific name: Proboscis)

From the elephant glossary Section: elephant anatomy Section: anatomy


Cross-section of an elephant trunk.
Cross-section of an elephant trunk.


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The elephant trunk does NOT have 150 000 muscles, or 120 000 or 40 000 or 20 000 muscles, the elephants trunk only have ONE muscle, named Musculus caninus!

But the trunk muscle consist of a large number of mucle fascicles. A muscle fascicle is a bundle of skeletal muscle fibers surrounded by perimysium, a type of connective tissue. Muscle cells are grouped into muscle fascicles by enveloping perimysium connective tissue. Fascicles are bundled together by epimysium connective tissue.


we extrapolated the complete number of fascicles (Figure 4G) and arrived at an estimate of about 90,000 fascicles, about 85% of which are radials and only 5% of which are longitudinals. We conclude that the elephant trunk contains an incredible number of fascicles and the trunk’s distal musculature, which mediates dexterous prehension, is made up of numerous extremely small radial fascicles.

Longren et al, Dense reconstruction of elephant trunk musculature


The trunk, or proboscis, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, although in early fetal life, the upper lip and trunk are separated.

The trunk is elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. It contains up to 150,000 separate muscle fascicles (a bundle of skeletal muscle fibers surrounded by perimysium, a type of connective tissue), with no bone and little fat. These paired muscles consist of two major types: superficial (surface) and internal. The former are divided into dorsals, ventrals, and laterals while the latter are divided into transverse and radiating muscles.

The muscles of the trunk connect to a bony opening in the Skull. The nasal septum is composed of tiny muscle units that stretch horizontally between the nostrils. Cartilage divides the nostrils at the base.[42] As a muscular hydrostat, the trunk moves by precisely coordinated muscle contractions. The muscles work both with and against each other. A unique proboscis nerve – formed by the maxillary and facial nerves – runs along both sides of the trunk.



Trunk is mentioned on 18 other pagesRumbling,  Trumpet,  Depigmentation,  Lungs,  Trunk,  Flehmen,  The elephants child,  Proboscidean,  Trunk-wash,  Sikara,  Tetanus,  Pharyngeal pouch,  Elephant Pox,  Indigestion,  Colic,  EEHV,  Surra,  Parturition,  

Trunk is mentioned on 20 person pages Teresa Ramos-Caballero,  Alfred Copps,  Andy Hayton,  Arthur Thomson,  Ben Williams,  Bernard Shea,  Bev Evans,  Brad Jewell,  Chuhi Igosawa,  David Farr,  Debbie Wirth,  Edward Cross,  Eileen Wirth,  Ephriam Thompson,  Eva Donohue,  George Lewis,  Georgedda Engesser,  Gösta Kruse,  Hans Rietmann,  Herbert Sanger,  

Trunk is mentioned on 20 location pagesCabarceno Zoo Obregon,  Carl Hagenbecks Tierpark (Stellingen),  Carl Hagenbecks Wild Animal Circus,  Chester Zoo,  Circus Sanger,  Fossett Brothers Circus (Powell & Clarke),  Gangala-na-Bodio Elephant Domestication Center,  Great Wallace Shows,  Houston Zoo,  John Robinson Circus,  Kolmarden Zoo,  Lion Country Safari, Inc - Laguna Hills,  Longleat Safari Park,  Menagerie du Paris Jardin des Plantes,  Pinnawala elephant orphanage,  Sig Sautelle Circus ,  Six Flags Wild Safari (Six Flags Great Adventure),  Sole Brothers Circus,  Sonepur Fair,  Theppakadu Mudumalai Forest Camp (MFC),  

Trunk is mentioned on 20 elephant record pagesAbu,  Albert,  Alice,  Alice,  Anarkali,  Anna May,  Atork,  Baba,  Baby,  Baby Butch,  Bak Kham,  Bandula,  Belle,  Benny (Dumbo),  Betty,  Billy,  Binari,  Bindu,  Black Diamond,  Bommi,  


Reference list Koehl, Dan, (2025). Trunk. Elephant Encyclopedia, available online retrieved 20 September 2021 at https://www.elephant.se/index.php?id=40. (archived at the Wayback machine)


Sources used for this article is among others:


Selected publications
  • Luke L. Longren, Lennart Eigen, Ani Shubitidze, John A. Nyakatura, Thomas Hildebrandt, Michael Brech; Dense reconstruction of elephant trunk musculature, https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)01220-4

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