Mammutidae is an extinct family of

proboscidea The Proboscidea (; , ) are a taxonomic order of afrotherian mammals containing one living family (Elephantidae) and several extinct families. First described by J. Illiger in 1811, it encompasses the elephants and their close relatives. From ...

ns that appeared during the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

epoch and survived until the start of the 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, "nipple" and "tooth", as with the genus, referring to a characteristic that distinguishes them from allied families. The genus '' Zygolophodon'' has also been assigned to this family. Mammutids ranged very widely, with fossils found in North America, Africa, and throughout Eurasia.

Discoveries

Since the 18th century several fossils have been found in different regions of Venezuela; the first one of these fossils was reviewed by Alexander von Humboldt. In August 2008, miners in Romania unearthed the skeleton of a 2.5-million-year-old mastodon, believed to be one of the best preserved in Europe.2.5 million-year-old mastodon unearthed in Romania
''USA Today'', 2008-08-08, Retrieved on 11 August 2008 Ninety percent of the skeleton's bones were intact, with damage to the skull and tusks. In 2009, a family in Portland, Michigan, unearthed mastodon bones while excavating a new pond on their property. It is one of around 250 mastodons found in Michigan over the past century. The first excavation to discover mastodon fossils in Elmacık village in Burdur province, Turkey, took place in 2006. As of July 2009, six mastodon fossils have been discovered in the village. In August 2011, a skeleton of a mastodon was found near Tomislavgrad in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In November 2011, a mastodon skeleton was unearthed in

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal Resort town, resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County near the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coastline, its population ...

, during construction of a retention pond. The find is being studied by the Daytona Beach Museum of Arts and Sciences.

Evolution

It has been traditionally assumed that mammutids are the most

basal Basal or basilar is a term meaning ''base'', ''bottom'', or ''minimum''. Science * Basal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location for features associated with the base of an organism or structure * Basal (medicine), a minimal level that is nec ...

group within Elephantimorpha, with

gomphothere Gomphotheres are any members of the diverse, extinct taxonomic family Gomphotheriidae. Gomphotheres were elephant-like proboscideans, but do not belong to the family Elephantidae. They were widespread across Afro-Eurasia and North America during ...

s being more closely related to elephants. However recent molecular and morphological evidence suggests that trilophodont gomphotheres and mammutids are more closely related to each other than they are to elephants.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13424536 Mastodons Miocene first appearances Prehistoric mammal families nl:Mastodont