Palaeomastodon

Palaeomastodon; Temporal range: Late Eocene–Early Oligocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	P. beadnelli skull
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Infraclass:	Eutheria
Superorder:	Afrotheria
Order:	Proboscidea; Illiger, 1811
Family:	†Palaeomastodontidae
Genus:	†Palaeomastodon

Palaeomastodon an extinct genus of Proboscidea. Palaeomastodon fossils have been found in Africa, lived some 36-35 million years ago. They are believed to be the ancestors of elephants or mastodons.^[1]

Artistic representation by Heinrich Harder

Palaeomastodon had tusks, both upper and lower, and it had a trunk. It was about 2.2 meters tall at the shoulder and weighed about 2.5 tonnes.^[2] The lower tusks were flat rather than pointed cones, and were probably used to scoop plants from swampy water.

Sources

Chased By Sea Monsters by Nigel Marven and Jasper James (Pg.128)

Paleomastodon, http://www.elephant.se/palaeomastodon.php?open=Extinct%20Proboscidea

References

^ The genus Palaeomastodon
^ Larramendi, A. (2016). "Shoulder height, body mass and shape of proboscideans" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 61. doi:10.4202/app.00136.2014.

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[1] The genus Palaeomastodon

[probos_mass-2] Larramendi, A. (2016). "Shoulder height, body mass and shape of proboscideans" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 61. doi:10.4202/app.00136.2014.

[1]

[2]