Palaeomastodon

Palaeomastodon; Temporal range: Late Eocene-Early Oligocene, 36–34 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
	P. beadnelli skull
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Proboscidea
Family:	†Palaeomastodontidae
Genus:	†Palaeomastodon; Andrews, 1901
Type species
	†Palaeomastodon beadnelli; Andrews, 1901
Species
	P. beadnelli; P. minor; P. parvus; P. wintoni;

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] Palaeomastodon lived in marshy semi aquatic swamps during the middle late Eocene to the early Oligocene. It may have used its upper pair of tusks for scraping bark off trees. Palaeomastodon was a very early form of the elephantidae and thus had a very short trunk.

Artistic representation by Heinrich Harder

Life reconstruction of Palaeomastodon beadnelli

Artistic representation

Palaeomastodon had tusks, both upper and lower, and it had a trunk. It was about 2.2 metres (7 ft 3 in) tall at the shoulder and weighed about 2.5 tonnes (2.5 long tons; 2.8 short tons).^[2] The lower tusks were flat rather than pointed cones, and were probably used to scoop plants from swampy water.

Palaeomastodon was known to have their ears located towards the top of their heads, to make sure their sensory organs remained dry. In addition, their sharp tusks were used as a defense weapon.^[3]

References[]

^ The genus Palaeomastodon Archived 2008-10-17 at the Wayback Machine
^ Larramendi, A. (2016). "Shoulder height, body mass and shape of proboscideans" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 61. doi:10.4202/app.00136.2014.
^ Osborn, H. F. (1909). "The Feeding Habits of Mœritherium and Palæomastodon". Nature. 81 (2074): 139–140. doi:10.1038/081139a0.

This article about a prehistoric proboscidean is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

[1] The genus Palaeomastodon Archived 2008-10-17 at the Wayback Machine

[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.

[3] Osborn, H. F. (1909). "The Feeding Habits of Mœritherium and Palæomastodon". Nature. 81 (2074): 139–140. doi:10.1038/081139a0.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Palaeomastodon Temporal range: Late Eocene-Early Oligocene, 36–34 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓

P. beadnelli skull
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Proboscidea
Family:	†Palaeomastodontidae
Genus:	†Palaeomastodon Andrews, 1901
Type species
†Palaeomastodon beadnelli Andrews, 1901
Species
P. beadnelli P. minor P. parvus P. wintoni