Name:
Amebelodon
(Shovel tooth).
Phonetic: Am-e-bel-oh-don.
Named By: Erwin Hinckly Barbour - 1927.
Synonyms: Amebelodon hicksi, Amebelodon
paladentatus, Amebelodon sinclairi, Mastodon grandincisivum,
Stegotetrabelodon grandincisivus, Trilophodon hicksi, Trilophodon
paladentatus.
Classification: Chordata, Mammalia,
Proboscidea, Gomphotheriidae.
Species: A. fricki (type),
A. floridanus.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: About 3 meters long, 2.5 - 3
meters tall at the shoulder.
Known locations: Mostly known from across the
USA. Some remains are also known from Asia and Africa.
Time period: Tortonian to Messinian of the Miocene.
Fossil representation: Fossil remains of multiple
individuals.
Like
with other gompothere elephants, Amebelodon had
two pairs of tusks,
one in the upper jaw and one pair in the lower. The lower pair of
tusks are of particular interest with this genus since they were shaped
to form a shovel-like structure that pointed forwards from the lower
jaw. It is widely believed that these tusks were feeding adaptations
that allowed Amebelodon to uproot plants and scrape
off tree bark.
Elephants
similar to Amebelodon include Platybelodon
and
Gomphotherium
amongst
others.
Further reading
- The feeding habits of the shovel-tusked gomphotheres (Mammalia,
Proboscidea, Gomphotheriidae): Evidence from tusk wear
patterns, W. D. Lambert - 1992.
- The Eurasian occurrence of the shovel-tusker Konobelodon
(Mammalia,
Proboscidea) as illuminated by its presence in the late Miocene of
Pikermi (Greece). - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 34:1437–53. - G.
E. Konidaris, S. J. Roussiakis, G. E. Theodorou & G. D. Koufos
- 2014.