shovel-tusker

The shovel-tusker was a type of extinct elephant relative, known as a gomphothere. These mammals lived during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs. They are characterized by their lower tusks, which were broadened and flattened, resembling a shovel.12

Gomphotheres, including shovel-tuskers, were part of the order Proboscidea, which also includes modern elephants, mammoths, and mastodons. They inhabited various environments like grasslands, forests, and marshes. Some shovel-tuskers, like Platybelodon, used their unique tusks to scoop up aquatic vegetation or dig for roots, though evidence suggests they may have also consumed tree bark and leaves.23