Editing Mastodon (section)

{{Short description|Extinct genus of proboscideans}}
{{About|the genus|the social networking platform|Mastodon (social network)|the band|Mastodon (band)|other uses|Mastodon (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Mammut|other uses|Mammut (disambiguation)}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Mastodon
| taxon = Mammut
| fossil_range = Late [[Miocene]] – early [[Holocene]] {{fossilrange|8|0.011|earliest=10}} (Possible earliest record of up to ~10&nbsp;[[megaannum|Ma]])
| image = AMNH Mastodon.jpg
| image_caption = Mounted ''M. americanum'' skeleton ("Warren mastodon"), [[American Museum of Natural History]]
| authority = [[Johann Friedrich Blumenbach|Blumenbach]], 1799
| type_species = {{extinct}}''Elephas americanus'' <br>(= †'''''Mammut americanum''''')
| type_species_authority = [[Robert Kerr (writer)|Kerr]], 1792
| subdivision_ranks = Other species
| subdivision = {{species list
| {{extinct}}'''''M. matthewi'''''|[[Henry Fairfield Osborn|Osborn]], 1921
| {{extinct}}'''''M. vexillarius'''''|[[William Diller Matthew|Matthew]], 1930
| {{extinct}}'''''M. raki'''''|[[Childs Frick|Frick]], 1933
| {{extinct}}'''''M. nevadanum'''''|[[Chester Stock|Stock]], 1936
| {{extinct}}'''''M. cosoensis'''''|Schultz, 1937
| {{extinct}}'''''M? furlongi'''''|Shotwell & Russell, 1963
| {{extinct}}'''''M. pacificum'''''|Dooley ''et al''., 2019
}}
{{collapsible list|bullets = true
|title=<small>Species pending reassessment</small>
| {{extinct}}'''''[["Mammut" borsoni|M. borsoni]]''''' <small>[[Isaac Hays|Hays]], 1834</small>
| {{extinct}}'''''M. obliquelophus''''' <small>Mucha, 1980</small>
| {{extinct}}'''''M. lufugense''''' <small>Zhang, 1982</small>
| {{extinct}}'''''M. zhupengensis''''' <small>Zhang et. al., 1991</small>
}}
| synonyms = {{collapsible list |bullets = true |title=<small>Genus synonymy</small>
 | ''Harpagmotherium'' {{small|[[Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim|Fischer von Waldheim]], 1808}}
 | ''Mastotherium'' {{small|Fischer von Waldheim, 1814}}
 | ''Mastodon'' {{small|[[Georges Cuvier|Cuvier]], 1817}}
 | ''Tetracaulodon'' {{small|[[John Davidson Godman|Godman]], 1830}}
 | ''Missourium'' {{small|[[Albert C. Koch|Koch]], 1840}}
 | ''Leviathan'' {{small|Koch, 1841}}
 | ''Pliomastodon'' {{small|Osborn, 1926}}
}}
{{collapsible list|bullets = true
 |title=<small>Synonyms of ''M. americanum''</small>
 | ''Elephas americanus'' {{small|Kerr, 1792}}
 | ''Mammut ohioticum'' {{small|Blumenbach, 1799}}
 | ''Elephas macrocephalus'' {{small|Camper, 1802}}
 | ''Harpagmotherium canadense'' {{small|Fischer de Waldheim, 1808}}
 | ''Elephas mastodontus'' {{small|[[Benjamin Smith Barton|Barton]], 1810}}
 | ''Mastotherium megalodon'' {{small|Fischer de Waldheim, 1814}}
 | ''Tapirus mastodontoides'' {{small|[[Richard Harlan|Harlan]], 1825}}
 | ''Tetracaulodon mastodontoideum'' {{small|Godman, 1830}}
 | ''Mastodon ohioticum'' {{small|[[Karl Eichwald|Eichwald]], 1832}}
 | ''Mastodon cuvieri'' {{small|Hays, 1834}}
 | ''Mastodon jeffersoni'' {{small|Hays, 1834}}
 | ''Tetracaulodon collinsii'' {{small|Hays, 1834}}
 | ''Tetracaulodon godmani'' {{small|Hays, 1834}}
 | ''Tetracaulodon tapyroides'' {{small|Hays, 1834}}
 | ''Elephas ohioticus'' {{small|[[Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville|de Blainville]], 1839–1864}}
 | ''Missourium kochii'' {{small|Koch, 1840}}
 | ''Leviathan missourii'' {{small|Koch, 1840}}
 | ''Tetracaulodon osagii'' {{small|Koch, 1841}}
 | ''Tetracaulodon kochii'' {{small|Koch, 1841}}
 | ''Tetracaulodon bucklandii'' {{small|Grant, 1842}}
 | ''Missourium theristocaulodon'' {{small|Koch, 1843}}
 | ''Mastodon rugatum'' {{small|Koch, 1845}}
 | ''Elephas rupertianus'' {{small|[[John Richardson (naturalist)|Richardson]], 1854}}
 | ''Trilophodon ohioticus'' {{small|[[Hugh Falconer|Falconer]], 1868}}
 | ''Mammut progenium'' {{small|[[Oliver P. Hay|Hay]], 1914}}
 | ''Mastodon americanus plicatus'' {{small|Osborn, 1926}}
 | ''Mammut oregonense'' {{small|Hay, 1926}}
 | ''Mastodon moodiei'' {{small|[[Erwin Hinckley Barbour|Barbour]], 1931}}
 | ''Mastodon americanus alaskensis'' {{small|Frick, 1933}}
 | ''Mastodon acutidens'' {{small|Osborn, 1936}}
}}
{{collapsible list|bullets = true
 |title=<small>Synonyms of ''M. matthewi''</small>
 | ''Mastodon matthewi'' {{small|Osborn, 1921}}
 | ''Pliomastodon sellardsi'' {{small|[[George Gaylord Simpson|Simpson]], 1930}}
 | ''Pliomastodon adamsi'' {{small|[[Claude W. Hibbard|Hibbard]], 1944}}
}}
{{collapsible list|bullets = true
 |title=<small>Synonyms of ''M. vexillarius''</small>
 | ''Pliomastodon vexillarius'' {{small|Matthew, 1930}}
}}
{{collapsible list|bullets = true
 |title=<small>Synonyms of ''M. raki''</small>
 | ''Mastodon raki'' {{small|Frick, 1933}}
}}
{{collapsible list|bullets = true
 |title=<small>Synonyms of ''M. nevadanum''</small>
 | ''Pliomastodon nevadanus'' {{small|Stock, 1936}}
}}
{{collapsible list|bullets = true
 |title=<small>Synonyms of ''M. cosoensis''</small>
 | ''Pliomastodon cosoensis'' {{small|Schultz, 1937}}
}}
{{collapsible list|bullets = true
 |title=<small>Synonyms of "''M.''" ''borsoni''</small>
 | ''Mastodon vellavus'' {{small|[[Auguste Aymard|Aymard]], 1847}}
 | ''Mastodon vialleti'' {{small|Aymard, 1847}}
 | ''Mastodon buffonis'' {{small|[[Auguste Pomel|Pomel]], 1848}}
 | ''Mastodon affinis'' {{small|Pomel, 1859}}
 | ''Zygolophodon borsoni'' {{small|Osborn, 1926}}
 | ''Mastodon pavlowi'' {{small|Osborn, 1936}}
 | ''Mammut shansiense'' {{small|Chow & Chang, 1961}}
}}
{{collapsible list|bullets = true
 |title=<small>Synonyms of "''M.''" ''obliquelophus''</small>
 | ''M. praetypicum?'' {{small|Schlesinger, 1917}}
}}
}}

A '''mastodon''', from [[Ancient Greek]] μαστός (''mastós''), meaning "breast", and ὀδούς (''odoús'') "tooth", is a member of the genus '''''Mammut''''' (German for 'mammoth'), which was endemic to North America and lived from the late [[Miocene]] to the early [[Holocene]]. Mastodons belong to the order [[Proboscidea]], the same order as [[elephant]]s and [[mammoth]]s (which belong to the family [[Elephantidae]]). ''Mammut'' is the [[type genus]] of the extinct family [[Mammutidae]], which diverged from the ancestors of modern elephants at least 27–25&nbsp;million years ago, during the [[Oligocene]].

Like other members of Mammutidae, the [[molar (tooth)|molar]] teeth of mastodons have zygodont morphology (where parallel pairs of [[cusp (anatomy)|cusps]] are merged into sharp ridges), which strongly differ from those of elephantids. In comparison to its likely ancestor ''[[Zygolophodon]]'', ''Mammut'' is characterized by particularly long and upward curving upper tusks, reduced or absent tusks on the lower jaw, as well as the shortening of the [[mandibular symphysis]] (the frontmost part of the lower jaw), the latter two traits also having [[Parallel evolution|evolved in parallel]] separately in elephantids. Mastodons had an overall stockier skeletal build, a lower-domed skull, and a longer tail compared to elephantids. Fully grown male ''M. americanum'' are thought to have been have been {{cvt|275|cm|ft}} to {{cvt|305|cm|ft}} at shoulder height and from {{cvt|6.8|tonnes}} to {{cvt|9.2|tonnes}} in body mass on average. The size estimates suggest that American mastodon males were on average heavier than any living elephant species; they were typically larger than [[Asian elephant]]s and [[African forest elephant]]s of both sexes but shorter than male [[African bush elephant]]s.

''M. americanum'', known as an "American mastodon" or simply "mastodon," had a long and complex paleontological history spanning all the way back to 1705 when the first fossils were uncovered from [[Claverack, New York]], in the American colonies. Because of the uniquely shaped molars with no modern analogues in terms of large animals, the species caught wide attention of European researchers and influential Americans before and after the [[American Revolution]] to the point of, according to American historians Paul Semonin and [[Keith Stewart Thomson]], bolstering [[American nationalism]] and contributing to a greater understanding of extinctions. Taxonomically, it was first recognized as a distinct species by [[Robert Kerr (writer)|Robert Kerr]] in 1792 then classified to its own genus ''Mammut'' by [[Johann Friedrich Blumenbach]] in 1799, thus making it amongst the first fossil mammal genera to be erected with undisputed taxonomic authority. The genus served as a [[wastebasket taxon]] for proboscidean species with superficially similar molar teeth morphologies but today includes 7&nbsp;definite species, 1 of questionable affinities, and 4&nbsp;other species from Eurasia that are pending reassessments to other genera.

Mastodons are considered to have had a predominantly [[browsing (herbivory)|browsing]]-based diet on leaves, fruits, and woody parts of plants. This allowed mastodons to [[niche partition]] with other members of Proboscidea in North America, like [[gomphothere]]s and the [[Columbian mammoth]], who had shifted to mixed feeding or [[grazing]] by the late [[Neogene]]-[[Quaternary]]. It is thought that mastodon behaviors were not much different from elephants and mammoths, with females and juveniles living in herds and adult males living largely solitary lives plus entering phases of aggression similar to the [[musth]] exhibited by modern elephants. ''Mammut'' achieved maximum species diversity in the [[Pliocene]], though the genus is known from abundant fossil evidence in the [[Late Pleistocene]].

Mastodons for at least a few thousand years prior to their extinction coexisted with [[Paleoindian]]s, who were the first humans to have inhabited North America. Evidence has been found that Paleoindians (including those of the [[Clovis culture]]) hunted mastodons based on the finding of mastodon remains with cut marks and/or with lithic artifacts.

Mastodons disappeared along with many other North American animals, including most of its largest animals ([[megafauna]]), as part of the [[Late Pleistocene extinctions|end-Pleistocene extinction event]] around the end of the Late Pleistocene-early Holocene, the causes typically being attributed to human hunting, severe climatic phases like the [[Younger Dryas]], or some combination of the two. The American mastodon had its last recorded occurrence in the earliest Holocene around 11,000&nbsp;years ago, which is considerably later than other North American megafauna species. Today, the American mastodon is one of the most well-known fossil species in both academic research and public perception, the result of its inclusion in American popular culture.