#palaeomastodon

[horrible-lizards]

Palaeomastodon, 1910, by Alice B. Woodward

[palaeopedia]

The ancient Mastodon, Palaeomastodon (1811)

Phylum : Chordata Class : Mammalia Infraclass : Eutheria Superorder : Afrotheria Order : Proboscidea Family : Palaeomastodontidae Genus : Palaeomastodon Species : P. beadnelli

Late Eocene/early Oligocene (36 - 35 Ma)

2 m high and 2 000 kg (size)

Northern Africa (map)

Despite its vague resemblance to modern elephants, Palaeomastodon is believed to have been more closely related to Moeritherium, one of the earliest elephant ancestors yet identified, than to today's African or Asian breeds. Confusingly, too, Palaeomastodon wasn't all that closely related to the North American Mastodon (which is technically known as Mammut, and evolved tens of millions of years later), nor to its fellow prehistoric elephant Stegomastodon or Mastodonsaurus, which wasn't even a mammal but a prehistoric amphibian. Anatomically speaking, Palaeomastodon was distinguished by its scoop-shaped lower tusks, which it used to dredge plants from flooded riversides and lakebeds.