In Depth The type genus of the Gomphotheriidae, Gomphotherium is quite a bizarre prehistoric elephant that is quite different from the ones that we know today. Gomphotherium still had two tusks protruding down from the upper jaw, but they were recurved, which means that they gently curved towards the body rather than away like in … Read more
In Depth Further Reading Further reading- The Dance of Tusks: Rediscovery of Lower Incisors in the Pan-American Proboscidean Cuvieronius hyodon Revises Incisor Evolution in Elephantimorpha. – PLOS ONE. – Dimila Moth�, Marco P. Ferretti, Leonardo S. Avilla & S. Leonardo – 2016.
In Depth Sinomastodon is a genus of elephant that lived in Asia between the Miocene and early Pleistocene. Further Reading - Mastodons (Proboscidea, Mammalia) from the LateNeogene and Early Pleistocene of the People’s Republic of China. - HistoricalAccount. Mainzer geowiss, mitt., 15, pp. 119–181. - H. Tobien, G. F. Chen & Y. Q. Li - … Read more
In Depth A relative to other gomphothere elephants like Gomphotherium and Ambelodon, Platybelodon also had a pair of forward facing tusks in the lower jaw that were shaped into a form of shovel-like structure. Like with its relatives, it is believed that Platybelodon used these tusks as feeding aids for uprooting plants and stripping bark. … Read more
In Depth A relative of the gomphothere elephants, Stegomastodon along with Cuvieronius was one of only two known elephant genera to spread into South America (remains once considered to belong to the Mammut genus are now assigned to these two genera). Unlike other gomphothere elephants (those like Gomphotherium), Stegomastodon only had two tusks that grew … Read more
In Depth Cuvieronius immediately stands out from amongst other elephants with its curved spirally twisting trunks which are often described as narwhal-like. However something else which this elephant is more famous for is that at the time of writing it is one of two genera of elephants that are known to have lived in South … Read more
In Depth Like with other gompothere elephants, Amebelodon had two pairs of tusks, one in the upper jaw and one pair in the lower. The lower pair of tusks are of particular interest with this genus since they were shaped to form a shovel-like structure that pointed forwards from the lower jaw. It is widely … Read more