Amebelodon

Lower jaw with the paddle-shaped tusks.

Amebelodon is a genus of gomphotheres ( Gomphotheriidae ), an extinct taxon of the Proboscidea ( Proboscidea ). Fossils from the late Miocene of North America.

Description

Amebelodon had a habit like modern elephants, and with about three meters shoulder height with a weight of 3 to 5 tons a similar size. The most striking difference to today's elephants concerns the construction of the skull. The lower jaw of Amebelodon was lengthened and widened. Like other Gomphotheriidae had Amebelodon next to the upper tusk pair yet another pair in the lower jaw. These were flattened with just under a meter long and relatively horizontal and thus formed a kind of shovel.

History of development

Amebelodon evolved in North America during the late Miocene to nine to eight million years ago and spread to the Old World. The most recent remains were found in North Africa, they are about six million years old.

Species

Several species are described. Some of them were a little smaller than an elephant, for example, A. floridanus; the greatest representatives, in particular A. britti, but also reached the size and the presumed weight (about 10 tons ) of mastodons and mammoths large and were larger than the African elephant. Known types:

  • Amebelodon Fricki
  • Amebelodon floridanus
  • Amebelodon tobieni
  • Amebelodon ( Konobelodon ) britti

Swell

  • W. David Lambert: Rediagnosis of the genus " Amebelodon " (Mammalia, Proboscidea, Gomphotheriidae ), with a new subgenus and species, " Amebelodon " ( " Konobelodon " ') " britti ". In: Journal of Paleontology. 64, 6, November 1990, ISSN 0022-3360, pp. 1032-1041.
  • Douglas Palmer: Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Animals. An illustrated encyclopedia. Könemann, Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-8290-6113-7.
Mya (unit) Afrotheria Biological dispersal Asian elephant African bush elephant
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