Gomphothere
Encyclopedia
Gomphotheriidae is a diverse taxonomic family
of extinct elephant
-like animals (proboscideans), called gomphotheres. They were widespread in North America
during the Miocene
and Pliocene
epochs, 12-1.6 million years ago. Some lived in parts of Eurasia
, Beringia and, following the Great American Interchange
, South America
. From about 5 million years ago onwards, they were slowly replaced by modern elephants, but the last two South American species, Cuvieronius
, did not finally become extinct until possibly as recently as 9,100 BP
, and Stegomastodon
remains have been dated to 6,060 BP
in the Valle del Magdalena, Colombia. Gomphotheres also survived in Mexico
and Central America
until the end of the Pleistocene
.
Gomphothere remains are common at South American Paleo-indian sites. Some examples include the early human settlement at Monte Verde
, Chile, dating to approximately 14,000 years ago, and the Valle del Magdalena, Colombia.
A gomphotere remain was found in the El Fin del Mundo site in Sonora
, Mexico
's clovis
location, being the first time such association is found in that part of the continent where gomphoteres were thought to be extinct 30,000 years ago.
Gomphotheres differed from elephants in their tooth
structure, particularly the chewing surfaces on the molar
teeth. Most had four tusk
s, and their retracted facial and nasal bones prompt paleontologists
to believe that gomphotheres had elephant-like trunks. The early gomphotheres, such as Phiomia
, had elongated upper and lower jaws, with relatively short tusks. Two lineages appear to have arisen from these ancestors. One, including animals such as Anancus
, developed the short lower jaw typical of modern elephants, while the others, including Platybelodon
, developed the lower jaw into an elongated 'shovel', and shortened the upper jaw.
is often placed in its own family, the Gnathabelodontidae, and Archaeobelodon
, Protanancus, Amebelodon
, Platybelodon
and Serbelodon
are sometimes regrouped in a separate family, the Amebelodontidae. The genera Anancus
, Tetralophodon
, Stegomastodon
, Paratetralophodon
and Cuvieronius
are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae
.
In 1933, Serbelodon burnhami
(now Amebelodon burnhami) was newly discovered and named after the celebrated scout Frederick Russell Burnham
.
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of extinct elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
-like animals (proboscideans), called gomphotheres. They were widespread in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
during the Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
and Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
epochs, 12-1.6 million years ago. Some lived in parts of Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
, Beringia and, following the Great American Interchange
Great American Interchange
The Great American Interchange was an important paleozoogeographic event in which land and freshwater fauna migrated from North America via Central America to South America and vice versa, as the volcanic Isthmus of Panama rose up from the sea floor and bridged the formerly separated continents...
, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. From about 5 million years ago onwards, they were slowly replaced by modern elephants, but the last two South American species, Cuvieronius
Cuvieronius
Cuvieronius is an extinct New World genus of gomphothere. It is named after the French naturalist Georges Cuvier, stood 2.7 m tall and looked like a modern elephant except for its spiral-shaped tusks.-Origin:...
, did not finally become extinct until possibly as recently as 9,100 BP
Before Present
Before Present years is a time scale used in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use AD 1950 as the origin of the age scale, reflecting the fact that radiocarbon...
, and Stegomastodon
Stegomastodon
Stegomastodon is an extinct genus of gomphothere, a family of proboscideans. It is not to be confused with the genus Mammut from a different proboscidean family, whose members are commonly called "mastodons", nor with the genus Stegodon, from yet another proboscidean sub-family, whose members are...
remains have been dated to 6,060 BP
Before Present
Before Present years is a time scale used in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use AD 1950 as the origin of the age scale, reflecting the fact that radiocarbon...
in the Valle del Magdalena, Colombia. Gomphotheres also survived in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
until the end of the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
.
Gomphothere remains are common at South American Paleo-indian sites. Some examples include the early human settlement at Monte Verde
Monte Verde
Monte Verde is an archaeological site in southern Chile, located in the northern Patagonia near Puerto Montt, Chile, which has been dated to 14,800 years BP . This dating adds to the evidence showing that settlement in the Americas pre-dates the Clovis culture by roughly 1000 years...
, Chile, dating to approximately 14,000 years ago, and the Valle del Magdalena, Colombia.
A gomphotere remain was found in the El Fin del Mundo site in Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
's clovis
Clovis culture
The Clovis culture is a prehistoric Paleo-Indian culture that first appears 11,500 RCYBP , at the end of the last glacial period, characterized by the manufacture of "Clovis points" and distinctive bone and ivory tools...
location, being the first time such association is found in that part of the continent where gomphoteres were thought to be extinct 30,000 years ago.
Gomphotheres differed from elephants in their tooth
Tooth
Teeth are small, calcified, whitish structures found in the jaws of many vertebrates that are used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores, also use teeth for hunting or for defensive purposes. The roots of teeth are embedded in the Mandible bone or the Maxillary bone and are...
structure, particularly the chewing surfaces on the molar
Molar (tooth)
Molars are the rearmost and most complicated kind of tooth in most mammals. In many mammals they grind food; hence the Latin name mola, "millstone"....
teeth. Most had four tusk
Tusk
Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth, usually but not always in pairs, that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canines, as with warthogs, wild boar, and walruses, or, in the case of elephants and narwhals, elongated incisors...
s, and their retracted facial and nasal bones prompt paleontologists
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
to believe that gomphotheres had elephant-like trunks. The early gomphotheres, such as Phiomia
Phiomia
Phiomia is an extinct genus of basal proboscid that lived in what is now Northern Africa during the Late Eocene to Early Oligocene some 36-35 million years ago. "Phiomia serridens" means "saw-toothed animal of Faiyum"....
, had elongated upper and lower jaws, with relatively short tusks. Two lineages appear to have arisen from these ancestors. One, including animals such as Anancus
Anancus
Anancus is an extinct genus of gomphothere endemic to Africa, Europe, and Asia, that lived during the Turolian age of the late Miocene to early Pleistocene, roughly from 3—1.5 million years ago....
, developed the short lower jaw typical of modern elephants, while the others, including Platybelodon
Platybelodon
Platybelodon was a genus of large herbivorous mammal related to the elephant . It lived during the Miocene Epoch, about 15-4 million years ago, and ranged over Africa, Europe, Asia and North America...
, developed the lower jaw into an elongated 'shovel', and shortened the upper jaw.
Classification
The systematics and phylogeny of gomphotheres are unclear and the group might in fact be paraphyletic. The genus GnathabelodonGnathabelodon
Gnathabelodon is an extinct proboscidean genus endemic to North America that includes species that lived during the Middle to Late Miocene. They were called "Spoon-billed Mastodons" since their lower jaw was elongated and shaped like a shoe-horn or spoon. The genus Gnathabelodon consists of two...
is often placed in its own family, the Gnathabelodontidae, and Archaeobelodon
Archaeobelodon
Archaeobelodon is an extinct genus of proboscidea of the family Gomphotheriidae endemic to Europe and Africa during the Miocene from 16.9—16.0 Ma, living for approximately ....
, Protanancus, Amebelodon
Amebelodon
Amebelodon is a member of a diverse group of primitive proboscideans called gomphotheres, a group that also gave rise to the modern elephants and their close relative the mammoth. The most striking attribute of this animal is its lower tusks, which are narrow, elongated,and distinctly flattened...
, Platybelodon
Platybelodon
Platybelodon was a genus of large herbivorous mammal related to the elephant . It lived during the Miocene Epoch, about 15-4 million years ago, and ranged over Africa, Europe, Asia and North America...
and Serbelodon
Serbelodon
Serbelodon is an extinct genus of African and European Proboscidean. It was a gomphothere "shovel-tusker." It had tusks and a trunk. It lived during the Miocene Epoch, and may have evolved from Amebelodon....
are sometimes regrouped in a separate family, the Amebelodontidae. The genera Anancus
Anancus
Anancus is an extinct genus of gomphothere endemic to Africa, Europe, and Asia, that lived during the Turolian age of the late Miocene to early Pleistocene, roughly from 3—1.5 million years ago....
, Tetralophodon
Tetralophodon
Tetralophodon is an extinct gomphothere genus . Like typical gomphotheres, Tetralophodon had four tusks and a trunk. This genus of animals stood about ten feet tall and was a very widespread and successful proboscidean. Tetralophodon lived through the Miocene and Pliocene epoches...
, Stegomastodon
Stegomastodon
Stegomastodon is an extinct genus of gomphothere, a family of proboscideans. It is not to be confused with the genus Mammut from a different proboscidean family, whose members are commonly called "mastodons", nor with the genus Stegodon, from yet another proboscidean sub-family, whose members are...
, Paratetralophodon
Paratetralophodon
Paratetralophodon is an extinct genus of gomphothere. Paratetralophodon may be an ancestor of Tetralophodon. The elephant-like animal lived through the Miocene and Pliocene epochs. It had four tusks and a trunk....
and Cuvieronius
Cuvieronius
Cuvieronius is an extinct New World genus of gomphothere. It is named after the French naturalist Georges Cuvier, stood 2.7 m tall and looked like a modern elephant except for its spiral-shaped tusks.-Origin:...
are placed by some authors within the gomphotheres, while others consider them as true Elephantidae
Elephantidae
Elephantidae is a taxonomic family, collectively elephants and mammoths. These are terrestrial large mammals with a trunk and tusks. Most genera and species in the family are extinct...
.
In 1933, Serbelodon burnhami
Serbelodon
Serbelodon is an extinct genus of African and European Proboscidean. It was a gomphothere "shovel-tusker." It had tusks and a trunk. It lived during the Miocene Epoch, and may have evolved from Amebelodon....
(now Amebelodon burnhami) was newly discovered and named after the celebrated scout Frederick Russell Burnham
Frederick Russell Burnham
Frederick Russell Burnham, DSO was an American scout and world traveling adventurer known for his service to the British Army in colonial Africa and for teaching woodcraft to Robert Baden-Powell, thus becoming one of the inspirations for the founding of the international Scouting Movement.Burnham...
.
External links
- Description of a Gomphothere exhibit from the website of Sierra CollegeSierra CollegeSierra College, a California community college, has its main campus located in Rocklin, California. Rocklin is located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, approximately twenty minutes from the state capital of Sacramento and east of San Francisco. The campus lies within the watershed...