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mastodon
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Side-by-side illustration comparing the American mastodon (Mammut americanum), woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), and modern African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana), showing differences in size, body shape, and tusks, with a scale bar indicating 1 meter and 3 feet. American mastodon (Mammut americanum)
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Side-by-side illustration comparing the American mastodon (Mammut americanum), woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), and modern African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana), showing differences in size, body shape, and tusks, with a scale bar indicating 1 meter and 3 feet.
Proboscidean size comparison Mastodons and woolly mammoths were hunted by some Paleo-Indians. These animals were similar in size to modern African elephants but, unlike the modern variety, they were adapted to ice age temperatures.

mastodon

extinct mammal
Also known as: Mammut
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History

mastodon, (genus Mammut), any of several extinct elephantine mammals (family Mammutidae, genus Mammut ) that first appeared in the early Miocene (23 million to 2.6 million years ago) and continued in various forms through the Pleistocene Epoch (from 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago). In North America, mastodons probably persisted into post-Pleistocene time and were thus contemporaneous with Paleo-Indian groups. Mastodons had a worldwide distribution; their remains are quite common and are often very well...

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