Name:
Gomphotherium (Greek for "welded mammal"); pronounced GOM-foe-THEE-ree-um
Habitat:
Swamps of North America, Africa and Eurasia
Historical Epoch:
Early Miocene-Early Pliocene (15-5 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 13 feet long and 2 tons
Diet:
Plants
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Straight tusks on upper jaw; shovel-shaped tusks on lower jaw
About Gomphotherium:
With its shovel-toothed lower tusks--which were used for scooping up vegetation from flooded swamps and lakebeds--Gomphotherium set the pattern for the later shovel-toothed elephant Amebelodon, which had an even more pronounced digging apparatus. For a prehistoric elephant of the Miocene and Pliocene epochs, Gomphotherium was remarkably widespread, taking advantage of various land bridges to colonize Africa and Eurasia from its original stomping grounds in North America.
