Mammutidae
Encyclopedia
Mammutidae is a family of extinct proboscidea
ns that lived between the Miocene
to the Pleistocene
or Holocene
. The family
was first described in 1922, classifying fossil specimens of the type genus Mammut (mastodons), and has since been placed in various arrangements of the order. The name mastodon derives from Greek
, μαστός "nipple" and ὀδούς "tooth", as with the genus, to indicate a characteristic that distinguishes them from allied families. The genus Zygolophodon
has also been assigned to this family.
Mammutidae classifies taxa that are known by the common name mastodon, a name also used by Georges Cuvier
for the genus Mastodon.
, which includes the extinct genus Mammuthus, the mammoths, and extant species of Elephas
and Loxodonta
, the modern elephants.
The author of Mammutidae also published Gomphotheriidae, which also includes species previously described as Mastodon. The classification of proboscideans is unstable and frequently revised, relationships within the order are controversial, and it is incompletely summarised as:
Some earlier descriptions of specimens as Mastodon have been transferred to the two genera of Mammutidae.
Proboscidea
Proboscidea is a taxonomic order containing one living family, Elephantidae, and several extinct families. This order was first described by J. Illiger in 1881 and encompasses the trunked mammals...
ns that lived between 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...
to 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 ....
or Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
. The family
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...
was first described in 1922, classifying fossil specimens of the type genus Mammut (mastodons), and has since been placed in various arrangements of the order. The name mastodon derives from Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, μαστός "nipple" and ὀδούς "tooth", as with the genus, to indicate a characteristic that distinguishes them from allied families. The genus Zygolophodon
Zygolophodon
Zygolophodon is an extinct genus of African, Asian, North American, and European mastodon that lived during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs. It may have evolved from Tetralophodon. While collecting fossils in the Clarno Formation of Oregon during 1941, noted paleobotanists Alonzo W. Hancock and...
has also been assigned to this family.
Mammutidae classifies taxa that are known by the common name mastodon, a name also used by Georges Cuvier
Georges Cuvier
Georges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
for the genus Mastodon.
Classification
The family diverged from a common ancestor of the ElephantidaeElephantidae
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...
, which includes the extinct genus Mammuthus, the mammoths, and extant species of Elephas
Elephas
Elephas is one of two surviving genera in the order of elephants, Proboscidea. The genus has one surviving species, the Asian elephant Elephas maximus....
and Loxodonta
Loxodonta
African elephants are the species of elephants in the genus Loxodonta , one of the two existing genera in Elephantidae. Although it is commonly believed that the genus was named by Georges Cuvier in 1825, Cuvier spelled it Loxodonte...
, the modern elephants.
The author of Mammutidae also published Gomphotheriidae, which also includes species previously described as Mastodon. The classification of proboscideans is unstable and frequently revised, relationships within the order are controversial, and it is incompletely summarised as:
- Elephantimorpha (ProboscideaProboscideaProboscidea is a taxonomic order containing one living family, Elephantidae, and several extinct families. This order was first described by J. Illiger in 1881 and encompasses the trunked mammals...
)- Elephantida
- ElephantidaeElephantidaeElephantidae 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...
(elephants and mammoths) - Gomphotheriidae (gomphotheres)
- Elephantidae
- Mammutida
- Mammutidae (mastodons)
- Mammut
- ZygolophodonZygolophodonZygolophodon is an extinct genus of African, Asian, North American, and European mastodon that lived during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs. It may have evolved from Tetralophodon. While collecting fossils in the Clarno Formation of Oregon during 1941, noted paleobotanists Alonzo W. Hancock and...
- incertae sedisIncertae sedis, is a term used to define a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Uncertainty at specific taxonomic levels is attributed by , , and similar terms.-Examples:*The fossil plant Paradinandra suecica could not be assigned to any...
- Eritreum
- Mammutidae (mastodons)
- Elephantida
Some earlier descriptions of specimens as Mastodon have been transferred to the two genera of Mammutidae.