Mastodons

Mastodons
	Obsolete systematic group The taxon dealt with here is not part of the systematics presented in the German-language Wikipedia. More information can be found in the article text.
	Artistic reconstruction of an American mastodon ( Mammut americanum ) by Charles R. Knight
Temporal occurrence
	Late Oligocene to Young Pleistocene
	28.1 to 0.012 million years
Locations
	Africa; Eurasia; America;
Systematics
	Jaw mouths (Gnathostomata)
	Land vertebrates (Tetrapoda)
	Mammals (mammalia)
	Higher mammals (Eutheria)
	Russell animals (Proboscidea)
	Paraphyletic taxon :
	Mastodons
Scientific name
	Mastodontoidea
	Osborn , 1921

The mastodons (Mastodontoidea) are a no longer in use taxon for a superfamily of the proboscis . In this group, the families of the Gomphotheria (Gomphotheriidae), Mammutiden (Mammutidae; in German sometimes also called "Real Mastodonts") and Stegodonts (Stegodontidae) were combined. The name Mastodontoidea was introduced for this group by Henry Fairfield Osborn (1857-1935) in 1921. It goes back to Mastodon , which was originally used in 1817 by Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) for what is now known as Gomphotherium angustidens (However, Cuvier had already described this as mastodonte à dents étroites in 1806 ). The name comes from the Greek and means μαστός (mastos, breast) and οδον (odon, tooth). It refers to the molar teeth formed by cusps, which, viewed from the side, are reminiscent of a woman's breasts ("breast teeth").

A common feature within the group of mastodons was their clearly elephant-like appearance, although they were generally more elongated and lower and had longer and flatter skulls. Early forms, however, were relatively small and quite short-legged. Furthermore, their bumpy teeth clearly distinguished them from those of the elephants with their lamellar teeth. In addition, in contrast to today's elephants, numerous representatives had elongated tusks in both the lower and upper jaw, which had developed from the incisors .

Cladistic studies showed that the mastodons do not represent a closed descent group ( Monophylum ). Instead, they represent three different lines of development, each branching off individually from the trunk line of the elephants (Elephantidae). For this reason the mastodons are now assigned to three different superfamilies. The mammutids now belong to the superfamily Mammutoidea, the gomphotheria to the superfamily Gomphotherioidea and the stegodonts to the superfamily Elephantoidea. The latter also includes the elephants. All three superfamilies belong to the Elephantimorpha. Today, the term mastodon is often used colloquially only for the American mastodon , while mastodon usually only occurs as a scientific name addition ( e.g. Notiomastodon , Stegomastodon or Sinomastodon ).

Individual evidence

^ Henry Fairfield Osborn: The Evolution, Phylogeny, and Classification of the Mastodontoidea. Buletin of the Geological Society of America 32 (3), 1921, pp. 327-332.
^ Henry Fairfield Osborn: Adaptive radiation and classification of the Proboscidea. PNAS 7, 1921, pp. 231-234.
↑ Ursula Bettina Göhlich: Elephantoidea (Proboscidea, Mammalia) from the Middle and Upper Miocene of the Upper Freshwater Molasse of Southern Germany: Odontology and Osteology. Munich Geoscientific Treatises Series A 36, Munich, 1998.
↑ Jehezekel Shoshani and Pascal Tassy: Advances in proboscidean taxonomy and classification, anatomy & physiology, and ecology and behavior. Quaternary International 126-128, 2005, pp. 5-20.
^ Jan van der Made: The evolution of the elephants and their relatives in the context of a changing climate and geography. In: Harald Meller (Hrsg.): Elefantenreich - Eine Fossilwelt in Europa. Halle / Saale 2010, pp. 340-360.
^ Pascal Tassy: Who is who among the Proboscidea? In: Jeheskel Shoshani and Pascal Tassy (eds.): The Proboscidea. Evolution and palaeoecology of the Elephants and their relatives. Oxford / New York / Tokyo 1996, pp. 40-48.
↑ Jeffrey J. Saunders: North American Mammutidae. In: Jeheskel Shoshani and Pascal Tassy (eds.): The Proboscidea. Evolution and palaeoecology of the Elephants and their relatives. Oxford / New York / Tokyo 1996, pp. 271-279.

literature

Commons : Mastodons ( Mammoths ) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Arno Hermann Müller : Textbook of paleozoology. Volume 3: Vertebrates. Part 3: Mammalia. 2nd, revised and expanded edition. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Jena 1989, ISBN 3-334-00223-3 .
Erich Thenius : Basics of the fauna and distribution history of mammals. A historical animal geography. 2nd, completely revised edition. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart 1980, ISBN 3-437-30312-0 .

[1] Henry Fairfield Osborn: The Evolution, Phylogeny, and Classification of the Mastodontoidea. Buletin of the Geological Society of America 32 (3), 1921, pp. 327-332.

[2] Henry Fairfield Osborn: Adaptive radiation and classification of the Proboscidea. PNAS 7, 1921, pp. 231-234.

[3] Ursula Bettina Göhlich: Elephantoidea (Proboscidea, Mammalia) from the Middle and Upper Miocene of the Upper Freshwater Molasse of Southern Germany: Odontology and Osteology. Munich Geoscientific Treatises Series A 36, Munich, 1998.

[4] Jehezekel Shoshani and Pascal Tassy: Advances in proboscidean taxonomy and classification, anatomy & physiology, and ecology and behavior. Quaternary International 126-128, 2005, pp. 5-20.

[5] Jan van der Made: The evolution of the elephants and their relatives in the context of a changing climate and geography. In: Harald Meller (Hrsg.): Elefantenreich - Eine Fossilwelt in Europa. Halle / Saale 2010, pp. 340-360.

[6] Pascal Tassy: Who is who among the Proboscidea? In: Jeheskel Shoshani and Pascal Tassy (eds.): The Proboscidea. Evolution and palaeoecology of the Elephants and their relatives. Oxford / New York / Tokyo 1996, pp. 40-48.

[7] Jeffrey J. Saunders: North American Mammutidae. In: Jeheskel Shoshani and Pascal Tassy (eds.): The Proboscidea. Evolution and palaeoecology of the Elephants and their relatives. Oxford / New York / Tokyo 1996, pp. 271-279.