Palaeomastodon

Fossil Palaeomastodonschädels

• Egypt
• Ethiopia
• Saudi Arabia

The Palaeomastodon ( Palaeomastodon beadnelli ) represents the earliest known representatives of mastodons in the evolution of mammoths, ie an ancestor of today's elephants. It lived in Africa at the time of the Eocene and early Oligocene, or about 35 million years ago. One of his ancestors was the Moeritherium that lived about 50 million years ago. As has been found in the oasis of El Fayum in Egypt also Palaeomastodon.

Palaeomastodon had a short trunk from the intergrown nose and the upper lip. In the upper jaw and the lower jaw extended, the incisors were extended and developed into tusks, the lower tusks were, however, significantly flattened and probably served to tear water plants from the swampy waters floor. The tusker was about 1 tons.

How Moeritherium also lived Palaomastodon in water or marshy shore area of lakes and rivers, comparable to today's hippos.