[burkaman]

http://corsair.themorgan.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=257528

> Notes: The text refers to elephants; the miniature may be a misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the standard Bestiary image of the elephant battling a dragon.

Seems to be speculation that the artist saw an image like https://64.media.tumblr.com/07d4ec88f9250ff97d244dd316bd5e2e... or had it described to them, and didn't really understand it but knew it was called an elephant.

[jonnycomputer]

Ah! Interesting. The color plate makes it quite clear that the "trunk" is actually another creature (a snake).

I wonder if the motif of elephants battling dragons comes out as a kind of origin story of how the elephant got its trunk.