Stegomastodon

Stegomastodon mirificus at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

• North America

Stegomastodon was a genus of Gomphotheriidae and lived from the upper Miocene to Pleistocene in North America.

Appearance

Stegomastodon had compared to previous Gomphotheriden a relatively short skull and lower jaw. The up to 2.4 m long tusks were slightly divergent and usually curved upwards. The molars were highly complex with conical tips and cement between the cones. The weight of this animal's trunk was approximately 6 tons.

Dissemination

It is often just a way Stegomastodon mirificus recognized. Sometimes the early forms are, however, considered Vorläuferart Stegomastodon Primitivus. The genus is known from the Pliocene to the Middle Pleistocene. Previously it was assumed that Stegomastodon has advanced over the Central American land bridge to South America and there also occurred. Today, the South American discoveries are, however, attributed to the separate genus Notiomastodon. It is believed that the two South American genera Haplomastodon and Plio - Pleistocene in Notiomastodon developed from Cuvieronius that spread from North to South America. Stegomastodon is not unlike Cuvieronius known from Central America.