Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
546 / Cenozoic
Palaeomastodon
Palaeomastodon beadnelli
A short trunk and upper and lower tusks mark an early stage of proboscidean evolution.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 36–33 million years ago
- Final stage
- Early Oligocene
- Geographic range
- River wetland and woodland · Egypt
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Palaeomastodon?
Palaeomastodon (Palaeomastodon beadnelli) was an extinct organism known from About 36–33 million years ago, with a range in River wetland and woodland · Egypt.
Life and ecology
It browsed soft riverside vegetation and used trunk and lower tusks to gather plants.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Palaeomastodon disappear?
Proboscideans diversified later in the Oligocene, but a younger fauna does not by itself show that they replaced this early form.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Palaeomastodon?
Fayum skulls, teeth and jaws constrain tusks; trunk length remains reconstructed.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS