Eozygodon
Appearance
Eozygodon Temporal range: Early Miocene
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Occlusal view of the third lower molar (m3) of E. morotoensis | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Proboscidea |
Family: | †Mammutidae |
Genus: | †Eozygodon Tassy & Pickford, 1983 |
Species: | †E. morotoensis
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Binomial name | |
†Eozygodon morotoensis Tassy & Pickford, 1983
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Eozygodon is an extinct genus of proboscidean in the family Mammutidae that is based on a single species, E. morotoensis, named in 1983.[1] It is known from the Early Miocene of Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Namibia)[2] and well as possibly the Middle Miocene of China.[3] It is considered a primitive member of the family, retaining a long lower jaw (longirostrine) with lower tusks.[3][4] The upper tusks are small and are parallel to each other. The body mass is considerably smaller than the American mastodon.[5] Dental mesowear from East African specimens suggests a browsing diet.[6]
References
- ^ Tassy, P. and Pickford, M. (1983). Un nouveau mastodonte zygolophodonte (Proboscidea, Mammalia) dans le Miocène Inférieur d'Afrique orientale: Systématique et paléoenvironnement. Géobios 16: 53-77.
- ^ William J. Sanders; Emmanuel Gheerbrant; John M. Harris; Haruo Saegusa; Cyrille Delmer (2010). "Proboscidea". In Werdelin, Lars; Sanders, William Joseph (eds.). Cenozoic Mammals of Africa. University of California Press. pp. 186–. ISBN 978-0-520-25721-4.
- ^ a b Zhang, Xiaoxiao; Wang, Shiqi (2021-09-02). "First report of Eozygodon (Mammutidae, Proboscidea) in Eurasia". Historical Biology. 33 (9): 1661–1670. doi:10.1080/08912963.2020.1723579. ISSN 0891-2963.
- ^ Mothé, Dimila; Avilla, Leonardo S.; Zhao, Desi; Xie, Guangpu; Sun, Boyang; Mothé, Dimila; Avilla, Leonardo S.; Zhao, Desi; Xie, Guangpu (2016). "A new Mammutidae (Proboscidea, Mammalia) from the Late Miocene of Gansu Province, China". Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências. 88 (1): 65–74. doi:10.1590/0001-3765201520150261. ISSN 0001-3765. PMID 26839998.
- ^ Tassy, P. 2018. Remarks on the cranium of Eozygodon morotoensis (Proboscidea, Mammalia) from the early Miocene of Africa, and the question of the monophyly of Elephantimorpha. Revue Paléobiologie, Genève, 37:593-607.
- ^ Saarinen, Juha; Lister, Adrian M. (2023-08-14). "Fluctuating climate and dietary innovation drove ratcheted evolution of proboscidean dental traits". Nature Ecology & Evolution. doi:10.1038/s41559-023-02151-4. ISSN 2397-334X.