Mammutidae is an extinct family of proboscideans belonging to Elephantimorpha. It is best known for the mastodons (genus Mammut), which inhabited North America from the Late Miocene until their extinction at beginning of the Holocene, around 11,000 years ago. The earliest fossils of the group are known from the Late Oligocene of Africa, around 24 million years ago, and fossils of the group have also been found across Eurasia. The name "mastodon" derives from Greek, μαστός "nipple" and ὀδούς "tooth", referring to their characteristic teeth.
| Mammutidae Temporal range: Late Oligocene - Holocene
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| Mounted Mammut skeleton, Museum of the Earth | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Proboscidea |
| Clade: | Elephantimorpha |
| Clade: | †Mammutida |
| Superfamily: | †Mammutoidea Hay, 1922[1] |
| Family: | †Mammutidae Hay, 1922 |
| Genera[4] | |
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†Eozygodon Tassy and Pickford, 1983 | |
| Synonyms | |
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Description
editMammutids are characterised by their zygodont molars, where pairs of parallel cusps are merged into sharp-sided riges, which are morphologically conservative and differ little between mammutid species.[5] Like other members of Elephantimorpha, mammutids exhibited horizontal tooth replacement like modern elephants. Some authors have argued that horizontal tooth replacement evolved in parallel in mammutids and members of Elephantida (which includes gomphotheres and elephants), though this is uncertain.[6] Compared to modern elephants, the bones of most mammutids were more robust, with the limb bones in particular being massive.[5] Early members of the group like Eozygodon and Zygolophodon had elongate mandibular symphysis of the lower jaws with lower incisors/tusks, while in later representatives like Sinomammut and Mammut, the lower incisors/tusks were either lost or only vestigially present, and the lower jaws shortened (brevirostrine). This process happened convergently amongst other elephantimorph proboscideans, including gomphotheres, stegodontids, and elephantids.[7][8] The mammutid "Mammut" borsoni is one of the largest of all proboscideans with an estimated average male body weight of 16 tonnes (35,000 lb) making it one of the largest land mammals of all time,[9] with the tusks of this species being the longest known of any animal, reaching over 5 metres (16 ft) in length.[10]
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Lower jaw of an American mastodon (Mammut americanum) with teeth -
Size an American mastodon (Mammut americanum) bull, compared to a human -
Size of an adult male of "Mammut" borsoni, the largest known mammutid, compared to a human
Ecology
editMembers of Mammutidae are thought to have been primarily browsers on the foliage and twigs of trees and shrubs.[11][12][13] Analysis of American mastodon (Mammut americanum) remains suggests that mammutids had a similar social structure to modern elephants, with herds of adult females and juveniles, with adult males living solitarily or in bonding groups with other males,[14][15] with adult males periodically engaging in musth-like fighting behaviour against other males.[14]
Evolution
editMammutids are the most basal group within Elephantimorpha, with gomphotheres and other members of Elephantida like amebelodonts being more closely related to elephants.[16][17] Cladogram after Li et al. (2024).[18]
| Elephantiformes |
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Mammutids originated in Africa during the Late Oligocene, with the oldest genus Losodokodon dating to around 27.5-24 million years ago.[19] Mammutids belonging to the genus Zygolophodon (as well as possibly other mammutid genera) entered Eurasia across the "Gomphotherium land bridge" during the early Miocene, around 18 million years ago. Mammutid remains are generally rare in Eurasia in comparison to contemporary gomphotheres and deinotheres.[5] During the late early Miocene, around 16.5 million years ago,[20] a population of Zygolophodon entered North America, giving rise to Mammut.[5] The youngest confirmed records of mammutids in Africa date to around 13 million years ago, though possible Late Miocene fossils have been reported from North Africa.[21] At the beginning of the Pleistocene, around 2 to 2.5 million years ago, the last of the Eurasian mammutids, "Mammut" borsoni became extinct, with members of Mammut persisting in North America until the end of the Pleistocene, approximately 11,000 years ago.[5]
References
edit- ^ Hay, Oliver Perry (1922). "Further observations on some extinct elephants" (PDF). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 35: 97–101. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
- ^ Wang, S.-Q.; Zhang, X.-X.; Li, C.-X. (2020). "Reappraisal of Serridentinus gobiensis Osborn & Granger and Miomastodon tongxinensis Chen: the validity of Miomastodon" (PDF). Vertebrata PalAsiatica. doi:10.19615/j.cnki.1000-3118.200310. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
- ^ Dimila Mothé; Leonardo S. Avilla; Desi Zhao; Guangpu Xie; Boyang Sun (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. PMID 26839998.
- ^ Shoshani, Jeheskel; Pascal Tassy (2005). "Advances in proboscidean taxonomy & classification, anatomy & physiology, and ecology & behavior". Quaternary International. 126–128: 5–20. Bibcode:2005QuInt.126....5S. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2004.04.011.
- ^ a b c d e Koenigswald, Wighart; Březina, Jakub; Werneburg, Ralf; Göhlich, Ursula (2022). "A partial skeleton of "Mammut" borsoni (Proboscidea, Mammalia) from the Pliocene of Kaltensundheim (Germany)". Palaeontologia Electronica. 27 (1): 1–20. doi:10.26879/1188.
- ^ Sanders, William J. (2018-02-17). "Horizontal tooth displacement and premolar occurrence in elephants and other elephantiform proboscideans". Historical Biology. 30 (1–2): 137–156. Bibcode:2018HBio...30..137S. doi:10.1080/08912963.2017.1297436. ISSN 0891-2963. S2CID 89904463.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Mothé, Dimila; Ferretti, Marco P.; Avilla, Leonardo S. (2016-01-12). Beatty, Brian Lee (ed.). "The Dance of Tusks: Rediscovery of Lower Incisors in the Pan-American Proboscidean Cuvieronius hyodon Revises Incisor Evolution in Elephantimorpha". PLOS ONE. 11 (1): e0147009. Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1147009M. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0147009. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 4710528. PMID 26756209.
- ^ Larramendi, A. (2016). "Shoulder height, body mass and shape of proboscideans" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 61. doi:10.4202/app.00136.2014.
- ^ Larramendi, Asier (2023-12-10). "Estimating tusk masses in proboscideans: a comprehensive analysis and predictive model". Historical Biology: 1–14. doi:10.1080/08912963.2023.2286272. ISSN 0891-2963.
- ^ Saarinen, Juha; Lister, Adrian M. (2023-08-14). "Fluctuating climate and dietary innovation drove ratcheted evolution of proboscidean dental traits". Nature Ecology & Evolution. 7 (9): 1490–1502. Bibcode:2023NatEE...7.1490S. doi:10.1038/s41559-023-02151-4. ISSN 2397-334X. PMC 10482678. PMID 37580434.
- ^ Janis, C (May 2004). "The species richness of Miocene browsers, and implications for habitat type and primary productivity in the North American grassland biome". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 207 (3–4): 371–398. Bibcode:2004PPP...207..371J. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2003.09.032.
- ^ Rivals, Florent; Semprebon, Gina M.; Lister, Adrian M. (September 2019). "Feeding traits and dietary variation in Pleistocene proboscideans: A tooth microwear review". Quaternary Science Reviews. 219: 145–153. Bibcode:2019QSRv..219..145R. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.06.027. S2CID 200073388.
- ^ a b Miller, Joshua H.; Fisher, Daniel C.; Crowley, Brooke E.; Secord, Ross; Konomi, Bledar A. (2022). "Male mastodon landscape use changed with maturation (late Pleistocene, North America)". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 119 (25): e2118329119. Bibcode:2022PNAS..11918329M. doi:10.1073/pnas.2118329119. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 9231495. PMID 35696566.
- ^ Haynes, G.; Klimowicz, J. (2003). "Mammoth (Mammuthus spp.) and American mastodont (Mammut americanum) bonesites: what do the differences mean?". Advances in Mammoth Research. 9: 185–204.
- ^ Shoshani, J.; Ferretti, M.P.; Lister, A.M.; Agenbroad, L.D.; Saegusa, H.; Mol, D.; Takahashi, K. (July 2007). "Relationships within the Elephantinae using hyoid characters". Quaternary International. 169–170: 174–185. Bibcode:2007QuInt.169..174S. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2007.02.003. ISSN 1040-6182.
- ^ Baleka, Sina; Varela, Luciano; Tambusso, P. Sebastián; Paijmans, Johanna L.A.; Mothé, Dimila; Stafford, Thomas W.; Fariña, Richard A.; Hofreiter, Michael (December 2021). "Revisiting proboscidean phylogeny and evolution through total evidence and palaeogenetic analyses including Notiomastodon ancient DNA". iScience. 25 (1): 103559. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2021.103559. PMC 8693454. PMID 34988402.
- ^ Li, Chunxiao; Deng, Tao; Wang, Yang; Sun, Fajun; Wolff, Burt; Jiangzuo, Qigao; Ma, Jiao; Xing, Luda; Fu, Jiao; Zhang, Ji; Wang, Shiqi (2024-06-20). "The trunk replaces the longer mandible as the main feeding organ in elephant evolution". eLife. 12. doi:10.7554/eLife.90908.3. ISSN 2050-084X.
- ^ Sanders, William J. (2023-07-07). Evolution and Fossil Record of African Proboscidea (1 ed.). Boca Raton: CRC Press. pp. 48, 117. doi:10.1201/b20016. ISBN 978-1-315-11891-8.
- ^ Koenigswald, Widga & Göhlich (2021): New mammutids (Proboscidea) from the Clarendonian and Hemphillian of Oregon – a survey of Mio-Pliocene mammutids from North America
- ^ Pickford, M. 2007. New mammutid proboscidean teeth from the middle Miocene of tropical and southern Africa. Palaeontologia Africana 42: 29–35.
