Palaeomastodon

Pay-lay-o-mas-toe-don.
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Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Palaeomastodon ‭(‬Ancient mastodon‭)‬.

Phonetic

Pay-lay-o-mas-toe-don.

Named By

Andrews‭ ‬-‭ ‬1901.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Eutheria,‭ ‬Afrotheria,‭ ‬Proboscidea.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

P.‭ ‬beadnelli,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬minor,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬parvus,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬wintoni

Size

‬Uncertain.

Known locations

Egypt,‭ ‬Ethiopia‭ & ‬Saudi Arabia.

Time Period

Throughout the Oligocene.

Fossil representation

Several individuals.

In Depth

       Palaeomastodon is widely regarded as being one of the ancestors to modern day elephants.‭ ‬Remains of Palaeomastodon are usually just of skull and mandible fossils,‭ ‬but already the presence of two tusks in the upper jaw and attachment for a trunk can be clearly seen.‭ ‬Unfortunately no one knows exactly how long the trunk was,‭ ‬but it may have been shorter than the trunks of modern elephants since this concept actually fits in with other primitive elephant forms.‭

       One clear difference between Palaeomastodon and modern elephants however are the‭ ‬incisors of the lower jaw which point forwards out from the mouth.‭ ‬These incisors effectively form a scoop-like structure which was likely a feeding aid.‭ ‬How this worked is uncertain because although the popular perception is that it was used to scoop up plants,‭ ‬especially aquatic varieties,‭ ‬some later elephants like the gomphotheres‭ (‬those like Platybelodon and Gomphotherium etc.‭) ‬seemed to use their forward facing lower incisors to scrape bark off of trees.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬The feeding habits of the shovel-tusked gomphotheres:‭ ‬evidence from tusk wear patterns,‭ ‬W.‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Lambert‭ ‬-‭ ‬1992.

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