Skip to main content

American Mastodon


(Image Source) 
The American Mastodon (Mammut americanum) was a large tusked mammal that inhabited North American during the late Pleistocene from about 3 million to 11,000 years ago. They stood between eight and ten feet at the shoulder and weighed around 10,000lbs. Mastodons had stocky legs and long hairs covering their bodies. They also had massive tusks, which where more straight then those of their Mammoth cousins.

American Mastodons shared their Pleistocene homes with Mammoths. Though they both belong to the order Proboscidea, Mastodons are classed in the ancient and now completely extinct family of Mammutidae, while Mammoths shared the family of modern Elephants, Elephantidae. The American Mastodon was only the last of the Mastodon line. Members of the family appeared in Africa nearly 40 million years ago, and other species existed in Europe in Asia until about 2 million years ago.

Mastodon Tooth (Image Source)
Mastodons had low, ridged teeth that demonstrate a diet based on leaf browsing. This differs from the teeth of Mammoths which were used for grazing. Another distinction between the two is that the mouth of a Mastodon contained more teeth at one time than that of a Mammoth, though they shared the same number of overall teeth in a lifetime. The conical teeth of the Mastodon are the inspiration for their name. Mastodon means "nipple tooth."

Just this past Sunday it was reported that a new skull of what is believed to be a Mastodon was found in a mine in New Mexico. It measured eight feet long. Unfortunately, the skull crumbled during the excavation process, and will now be painstakingly reassembled. Mastodon fossils are relatively common throughout the United States, especially in the Midwest. A majority of these sites contain Mastodons dated between 40,000 and 11,000 years.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Burmese Peacock

Polyplectron bicalcaratum Burmese Peacocks are also referred to as Grey Peacock-Pheasants, which is probably a more apt name, as they are not actually Peacocks... though they do belong to the same family. At any rate, they share some physical resemblances to Peacocks- most notably the eyes on their tail feathers. Burmese Peacocks are the national birds of Myanmar, which was called Burma until 1989, though some still refer to it as such. The birds live in several other Southeast Asian countries as well, and are divided into four subspecies. The species as a whole is listed as being of Least Concern , because they have a large range and population size. It unfortunately appears that they may be declining in number, but it is a slow descent that does not yet meet the vulnerability thresholds. The birds are listed under CITES Appendix II, because they can be kept in captivity and grabbing individuals from the wild could become problematic for the species. IUCN Stat...
3 comments
Read more

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a...
59 comments
Read more

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!
18 comments
Read more