Amebelodon
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| Amebelodon Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
_(15459973391).jpg) | |
| Mandible assigned to A. fricki | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Proboscidea |
| Family: | †Amebelodontidae |
| Genus: | †Amebelodon Barbour, 1927 |
| Species | |
| |
Amebelodon is a genus of extinct proboscidean belonging to Amebelodontidae (the so-called shovel-tuskers). The most striking attribute of this animal is its lower tusks, which are narrow, elongated, and distinctly flattened with the degree of flattening varying among the different species. One valid species is known for this genus, which was endemic to North America. Other species once assigned to Amebelodon are now assigned to the genus Konobelodon, which was once a subgenus.[1]
Amebelodon first appeared in the Great Plains and Gulf Coast regions of North America during the late Miocene, roughly 9 million years ago, and apparently became extinct on this continent sometime around 6 million years ago. The youngest record of Amebelodon is from a 5-million-year-old site in North America.[2][3] The species Amebelodon floridanus was relatively small, a little smaller than living elephants, and was common in fossil sites from 9 to 8 million years ago. Other larger but somewhat younger common North American species include Amebelodon fricki.[4] One lineage of species once assigned to Amebelodon, including Amebelodon britti and North African Amebelodon cyrenaicus, is now placed in a separate genus called Konobelodon, formerly considered to be a subgenus.[1]
Description
A. floridanus fossils are characterised by a more primitive dental morphology as compared to A. fricki. A. floridanus also possesses distinctive mandibular tusks that further distinguish it from A. fricki.[5]
