Skip to content
Category

Pliocene proboscideans

page 1
Mammut
A mastodon () is a member of the genus , which was endemic to North America and lived from the late Miocene to the early Holocene. Mastodons belong to the order Proboscidea, the same order as elephants and mammoths (which belong to the family Elephantidae). Mammut is the type genus of the extinct family Mammutidae, which diverged from the ancestors of modern elephants at least 28 million years ago, during the Oligocene.
Deinotherium
Deinotherium is an extinct genus of large, elephant-like proboscideans that lived from the Middle Miocene until the end of the Early Pleistocene. Although its appearance is reminiscent of modern elephants, Deinotherium differered considerably from modern elephants in several anatomical details: it possessed a notably more flexible neck, proportionally more slender limbs, tapir-like teeth, as well as tusks which grew down and curved back from the lower jaw (mandible), and lacked tusks growing from the upper jaw. Several species of Deinotherium grew larger than modern elephants, not uncommonly r
Stegodon
Stegodon (from the Ancient Greek στέγω (stégō), meaning "to cover", and ὀδούς (odoús), meaning "tooth", named for the distinctive ridges on the animal's molars) is an extinct genus of proboscidean, related to elephants. It was originally assigned to the family Elephantidae along with modern elephants but is now placed in the extinct family Stegodontidae. Like elephants, Stegodon had teeth with plate-like lophs that are different from those of more primitive proboscideans like gomphotheres and mammutids. Fossils of the genus are known from Africa and across much of Asia, as far southeast as Tim
Gomphotherium
Gomphotherium (; "nail beast" for its double set of straight tusks) is an extinct genus of gomphothere proboscidean from the Neogene of Eurasia, Africa and North America. It is the most diverse genus of gomphothere, with over a dozen valid species. The genus is probably paraphyletic, and ancestral to other gomphothere genera.
Gomphothere
Gomphotheres are an extinct group of proboscideans related to modern elephants. First appearing in Africa during the Oligocene, they dispersed into Eurasia and North America during the Miocene and arrived in South America during the Pleistocene as part of the Great American Interchange. Gomphotheres are a paraphyletic group ancestral to Elephantidae, which contains modern elephants, as well as Stegodontidae.
Elephas recki
species of mammal (fossil)
Primelephas
Primelephas is a genus of Elephantinae that existed during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs. The name of the genus suggests 'first elephant'. These primitive elephantids are thought to be the common ancestor of Mammuthus, the mammoths, and the closely allied genera Elephas and Loxodonta, the Asian and African elephants, diverging some 4-6 million years ago. It had four tusks, which is a trait not shared with its descendants, but common in earlier proboscideans. The type species, Primelephas gomphotheroides, was described by Vincent Maglio in 1970, with the specific epithet indicating the fossil
Anancus
Anancus is an extinct genus of "tetralophodont gomphothere" native to Afro-Eurasia, that lived from the Tortonian stage of the late Miocene until its extinction during the Early Pleistocene, roughly from 8.5–2 million years ago.
Mammuthus africanavus
species of mammal (fossil)
Cuvieronius
Cuvieronius is an extinct New World genus of gomphothere which ranged from southern North America to northwestern South America during the Pleistocene epoch. Reaching a shoulder height of and a body mass of , it was comparable in size to an Asian elephant. Cuvieronius inhabited subtropical and tropical latitudes in environments ranging from grasslands to tropical rainforest. Among the last gomphotheres along with the South American Notiomastodon, it became extinct as part of the end Pleistocene-extinction event, approximately 12-11,000 years ago, along with most other large mammals in the Amer
Stegodontidae
Stegodontidae (from the Ancient Greek στέγω (stégō), meaning "to cover", and ὀδούς (odoús), meaning "tooth", named for the distinctive ridges on the animal's molars) is an extinct family of proboscideans from Africa and Asia (with a single occurrence in Europe) from the Early Miocene (at least 17.3 million years ago) to the Late Pleistocene. It contains two genera, the earlier Stegolophodon, known from the Miocene of Asia and the later Stegodon, from the Late Miocene to Late Pleistocene of Africa and Asia (with a single occurrence in Greece) which is thought to have evolved from the former. Th
Tetralophodon
Tetralophodon (from Ancient Greek τετρα- (tetra-), meaning "four", λόφος (lóphos), meaning "ridge", and ὀδούς (odoús), meaning "tooth") is an extinct genus of "tetralophodont gomphothere" belonging to the superfamily Elephantoidea, known from the Miocene of Afro-Eurasia. It has been posited to be the ultimate ancestor of Elephantidae.
Stegomastodon
Stegomastodon ('roof breast tooth') is an extinct genus of gomphotheres. It ranged throughout North America from the Pliocene (early Blancan ~4 Ma), to the Early Pleistocene (early Irvingtonian, ~1.2 Ma). The former South American species have been synonymized with Notiomastodon platensis. The neologism 'cornady' () has been proposed in some literature as an english name for the members of this genus.
Zygolophodon
Zygolophodon is an extinct genus of mammutid proboscidean that lived during the Miocene in Africa, Eurasia, and North America. It is suggested to be ancestral to Mammut, the genus containing the American mastodons.
Stegotetrabelodon
Stegotetrabelodon (from Ancient Greek στέγος (stégos), meaning "roof", τετρα- (tetra-), meaning "four", βέλος (bélos), meaning "arrow", and ὀδούς (odoús), meaning "tooth") is an extinct genus of primitive elephantid from the Late Miocene to Early Pliocene of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Italy. It is the earliest and most primitive member of the family, notably retaining long lower tusks, which are the longest known of any proboscidean.
Stegolophodon
Stegolophodon is an extinct genus of stegodontid proboscideans. It lived during the Miocene epoch in Asia. The earliest fossils are known from the Early Miocene, with one of the oldest fossils being from Japan, estimated to be 17.3 million years old. It is suggested to be the ancestor of Stegodon, and transitional fossils between the two genera known from the Late Miocene of Southeast Asia and Yunnan in South China. Like modern elephants, Stegolophodon developed proal jaw movement, where the lower jaw moves in a back-to-front motion, rather than the oblique chewing motion used by earlier probo
Notiomastodon
Notiomastodon is an extinct genus of gomphothere proboscidean (related to modern elephants), endemic to South America from the Pleistocene to the early Holocene. Individuals of Notiomastodon reached a size similar to that of the modern Asian elephant, with a body mass of 3-4 tonnes. Like other brevirostrine gomphotheres such as Cuvieronius and Stegomastodon, Notiomastodon had a shortened lower jaw and lacked lower tusks, unlike more primitive gomphotheres like Gomphotherium.
Rhynchotherium
Rhynchotherium is an extinct genus of proboscidea endemic to North America and Central America during the Miocene through Pliocene from 13.650 to 3.6 Ma, living for approximately .
Sinomastodon
Sinomastodon ("Chinese mastodont") is an extinct gomphothere proboscidean known from the Late Miocene to Early Pleistocene of Asia, including China, Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia and probably Kashmir.
Loxodonta atlantica
species of mammal
Mammuthus rumanus
species of mammal (fossil)
Elephas hysudricus
species of mammal
Paratetralophodon
Paratetralophodon (from Ancient Greek παρα- (para-), meaning "beside", and Tetralophodon) is an extinct genus of proboscidean from late Neogene deposits in India and China. Although traditionally classified in the family Gomphotheriidae, recent studies find it to be more closely related to modern elephants.
Loxodonta adaurora
species of mammal
Loxodonta exoptata
species of mammal