| Amebelodon | |
|---|---|
| |
| An artist's impression of Amebelodon. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Proboscidea |
| Family: | †Amebelodontidae |
| Genus: | †Amebelodon Barbour, 1927 |
| Species | |
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Amebelodon is a genus of extinct proboscidean belonging to Amebelodontidae (the so-called shovel-tuskers), a group of proboscideans related 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 with the degree of flattening varying among the different species.
Taxonomy[]
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. The species A. 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 A. fricki.[4] One lineage of species once assigned to Amebelodon, including A. britti and North African A. cyrenaicus, is now placed in a separate genus called Konobelodon, formerly considered to be a subgenus.
In The Media[]
- Amebelodon was 1st seen in Discovery Channels Land of the Mammoth.
- Amebelodon also makes a brief appearance in the 2019 PBS Documentary When Whales Walked: Journeys in Deep Time.
- Amebelodon appeared in the mobile game Jurassic Park Builder as a limited time glacier creature.
Gallery[]
Amebelodon/Gallery