Editing Mastodon (section)

== Taxonomy ==
=== Research history ===
{{Main|Research history of Mammut|l1=Research history of ''Mammut''}}

==== Earliest finds ====
[[File:Em - Mammut americanum - 9.jpg|thumb|left|''Mammut americanum'' [[molar (tooth)|molar]] tooth, [[Rotunda Museum]]]]
In a letter dating to 1713, [[Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon]] (known also as Lord Cornbury) from [[New York (state)|New York]] reported to the [[Royal Society]] [[learned society]] of [[Great Britain]] that in 1705, a large-sized tooth was found near the side of the [[Hudson River]] by a [[Dutch people|Dutch]] country-fellow and was sold to [[New York General Assembly]] member Van Bruggen for a [[gill (unit)|gill]] of rum, and Bruggen eventually gave it to Cornbury. He then stated that he sent Johannis Abeel, a recorder of [[Albany, New York|Albany]], New York to dig near the original site of the tooth to find more bones.<ref name="stanford"/><ref name="cornbury">{{cite book |last=Weld |first=Charles Richard |year=1848 |title=A History of the Royal Society: With memoirs of the Presidents |chapter=Chapter&nbsp;XV: 1710–1725 |pages=398–433 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5CUEAAAAQAAJ }}</ref>

Abeel reported later that he went to the town of [[Claverack, New York|Claverack]], New York where the original bones were found. American historian Paul Semonin said that the accounts written by Cornbury and Abeel match up with that written by in the July 30, 1705 entry in ''[[The Boston News-Letter]]''.<ref name="monster">{{cite book|last=Semonin|first=Paul|year=2000|title=American Monster: How the Nation's First Prehistoric Creature Became a Symbol of National Identity|chapter=Chapter 1: The Giant of Claverack in Puritan America|publisher=NYU Press|pages=15–40}}</ref> The account reported skeletal evidence of an [[antediluvian]] (or biblical) "[[giant]]" uncovered from Claverack. The [[femur]] and one of the teeth both dissolved before they could be further observed, however.<ref name="warren">{{cite book|last=Warren|first=John Collin|year=1852|title=The Mastodon giganteus of North America|section=Historical sketch|publisher=John Wilson and Son|pages=1–3|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/126175#page/20/mode/1up}}</ref><ref name="stanford">{{cite journal|last=Stanford|first=Donald E.|year=1959|title=The Giant Bones of Claverack, New York, 1705|journal=New York History|volume=40|number=1|pages=47–61|jstor=23153528 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23153528}}</ref>

==== Big Bone Lick ====
[[File:Proboscidean femurs 1764.png|thumb|Engravings of the femurs of an unspecified extant elephant species (top), ''M.&nbsp;americanum'' (middle), and a "Siberian" mammoth (bottom), 1764]]
In 1739, a French military expedition under the command of [[Charles III Le Moyne]] (known also as "Longueil") explored the locality of "[[Big Bone Lick State Park|Big Bone Lick]]" (located in what is now the US state of [[Kentucky]]) and gathered fossil bones and teeth there.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Storrs |first=Glenn W. |year=2019 |title=Big Bone Lick |journal=Ohio Valley History |volume=19 |number=3 |pages=82–90 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/734797}}</ref> The French naturalist [[Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton]] examined the fossil collection brought by Longueuil and compared it with specimens of extant [[elephant]]s and Siberian [[mammoth]]s in 1762. Daubenton said that the bones were discovered by Native Americans (probably [[Abenaki]] hunter-warriors). He came to the conclusion that the femur and tusk belonged to an elephant while the [[molar (tooth)|molars]] (or cheek teeth) came from a separate giant [[hippopotamus]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Daubenton|first=Louis Jean-Marie|year=1764|title=Mémoire sur des os et des dents remarquables par leur gradeur|journal=Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Sciences, Année MDCCLXII, avec les Mémoires de Mathématiques & de Physique, pour la même année, 1762|pages=206–229|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rT1RAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA206}}</ref><ref name="hedeen">{{cite book|last=Hedeen|first=Stanley|year=2008|title=Big Bone Lick: The Cradle of American Paleontology |chapter=Chapter&nbsp;4: Gathering the bones |publisher=University Press of Kentucky|pages=31–44}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Barnett|first=Lydia|year=2019|title=Showing and hiding: The flickering visibility of earth workers in the archives of earth science|journal=History of Science|volume=58|issue=3|pages=245–274 |doi=10.1177/0073275319874982|pmid=31640428 }}</ref>

In [[Shawnee]] tradition, the proboscideans roamed in herds and were hunted by giants, who both eventually died out. The accounts told by the Shawnee individuals in 1762 are the oldest known documented interpretations of the "[[Ohio]]" fossils, although the traditions may have had been told for generations.<ref name="monster3">{{cite book |last=Semonin |first=Paul |year=2000 |title=American Monster: How the nation's first prehistoric creature became a symbol of national identity |chapter=Chapter&nbsp;4: Big Bone Lick |publisher=NYU Press |pages=84–110 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Mayor |first=Adrienne |year=2005 |title=Fossil Legends of the First Americans |chapter=Chapter&nbsp;1: The northeast: Giants, great bears, and grandfather of the buffalo |publisher=Princeton University Press |pages=32–72}}</ref>

In 1767, [[Peter Collinson (botanist)|Peter Collinson]] credited Irish trader [[George Croghan]] for having sent him and [[Benjamin Franklin]] fossil evidence of the mysterious proboscideans, using them for his studies. He concluded that the peculiar grinders (the molars) were built for herbivorous diets of branches of trees and shrubs as well as other vegetation, a view later followed by Franklin.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Daiutolo |first=Robert, Jr. |date=October 2015 |title=George Croghan: The life of a conqueror |degree=Ph.D. |series=Graduate Program in History |publisher=[[Rutgers University]] |place=New Brunswick–Piscataway, NJ |url=https://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/48442/PDF/1/play/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Collinson |first=Peter |year=1767 |title=XLVII.&nbsp;Sequel to the foregoing account of the large fossil teeth |journal=[[Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London]] |volume=57 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/208064#page/534/mode/1up}}</ref>

In 1768, Scottish anatomist [[William Hunter (anatomist)|William Hunter]] recorded that he and his brother [[John Hunter (surgeon)|John Hunter]] observed that the teeth were not like those of modern elephants. He determined that the "grinders" from Ohio were of a carnivorous animal but believed that the tusks belonged to the same animal. After examining fossils from Franklin and Lord Shelburne, Hunter was convinced that the "''pseudo-elephant''", or "''animal incognitum''" (shortened as "''incognitum''"), was an animal species separate from elephants that might have also been the same as the proboscideans found in Siberia. He concluded his article with the opinion that although regrettable to philosophers, humanity should be thankful to heaven that the animal, if truly carnivorous, was extinct.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hunter |first=William |year=1768 |title=V.&nbsp;Observations on the bones, commonly supposed to be elephants bones, which have been found near the river Ohio in America |journal=[[Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London]] |volume=58 |pages=34–45 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/207945#page/60/mode/1up }}</ref>

==== Early American observations ====
[[File:C W Peale - The Exhumation of the Mastadon.jpeg|thumb|The 1806–1808 painting ''The Exhumation of the Mastodon'' by [[Charles Willson Peale]]]] 
In 1785, Reverend Robert Annan wrote an account recalling an event in which workers discovered bones in his farm near the Hudson River in New York in fall of 1780. The workers found four molars in addition to another that was broken and thrown away. They also uncovered bones, including vertebrae that broke shortly thereafter. Annan expressed his confusion at what the animal could be but speculated based on its "grinders" that it was carnivorous in diet. He speculated also that it was probably extinct due to some catastrophe within the globe.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Annan |first=Robert |year=1793 |title=Account of a skeleton of a large animal, found near Hudson's River |journal=Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences |volume=2 |number=1 |pages=160–164 |doi=10.2307/27670792 |jstor=27670792 |bibcode=1793MAAAS...2..160A }}</ref>

American statesman [[Thomas Jefferson]] stated his thoughts on ''[[Notes on the State of Virginia]]'' (published by 1785) that the fossil proboscideans may have been carnivorous, still exist in the northern parts of North America, and are related to mammoths whose remains were found in Siberia. Jefferson referenced the theory of American [[social degeneracy]] by [[Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon]], countering it by using extant and extinct animal measurements, including those of "mammoths," as proof that North America faunas were not "degenerative" in size.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jefferson|first=Thomas|year=1785|title=Notes on the State of Virginia|publisher=Philippe Denis Pierres|pages=42–80|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DTWttRSMtbYC}}</ref> Semonin pointed out that social degeneracy was an offensive concept to Anglo-American naturalists and that the American proboscidean fossils were used as political tools to inspire [[American nationalism]] and counter against the theory of American degeneracy.<ref name="monster5">{{cite book|last=Semonin|first=Paul|year=2000|title=American Monster: How the nation's first prehistoric creature became a symbol of national identity |chapter=Chapter&nbsp;5: The American ''incognitum'' in Paris |publisher=NYU Press |pages=111–135 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Semonin |first=Paul |year=2000 |title=American Monster: How the nation's first prehistoric creature became a symbol of national identity |chapter=Chapter&nbsp;11: “Monarch of the wilderness” |publisher=NYU Press |pages=263–287 }}</ref>

[[File:Skeleton Missouri Leviathan Drawing.jpg|thumb|left|Colored [[lithograph]] of the "''Missourium''" (= ''Mammut'') skeleton, {{circa|1845}}]]
In 1799, laborers recovered a thighbone while digging a [[marl]] pit at John Masten's farm in [[Newburgh (town), New York|Newburgh]], New York, and subsequent excavations were observed by a crowd of over a hundred people.<ref name="monster7">{{cite book |last=Semonin |first=Paul |year=2000 |title=American Monster: How the nation's first prehistoric creature became a symbol of national identity |chapter=Chapter&nbsp;13: Exhumation of the monster |publisher=NYU Press |pages=315–340 }}</ref> American painter and exhibitionist [[Charles Willson Peale]] visited the locality in 1801, where he first sketched the fossils then purchased excavation privileges and full ownership of the fossils from Masten and borrowed a loan from the [[American Philosophical Society]] (APS) in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]]. In addition to the first skeleton, the second was excavated using a mill-like device to drain a {{cvt|12|ft}} deep marl pit. Peale assembled a complete skeleton in his [[Peale's Philadelphia Museum|Philadelphia Museum]] in 1804, and its exhibit was open first to invited members of the American Philosophical Society on December&nbsp;24 then to the general public on December&nbsp;25 for an exhibit admission fee in addition to the general admission fee.<ref name="peale">{{cite journal|last=Zygmont|first=Brian J.|year=2015|title=Charles Willson Peale's ''The Exhumation of the Mastodon'' and the great chain of being: The interaction of religion, science, and art in early-federal America |journal=Text Matters |volume=5 |number=5 |pages=95–111 |doi=10.1515/texmat-2015-0008 |hdl=11089/15025 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

The special exhibition attracted thousands of visitors, and the skeleton became a US national symbol.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hoffman |first=Sheila K. |year=2018 |title=The origins of Puritan politics in U.S. museums: Nation building and "the arts" from 1776 to 1806 |journal=ICOFOM Study Series |volume=46 |issue=46 |pages=131–145 |doi=10.4000/iss.1025 }}</ref> Charles Peale's son [[Rembrandt Peale]] took the skeleton to Europe used to promote the fossil proboscidean and have it used as support for Jefferson's final rebuttals against Buffon's arguments for supposed inferiority of American faunas. Author Keith Stewart Thomson argued that the promotion of the "mastodon" skeleton made it a symbol of the strength of American nationalism and that "mammoth" as a term became associated with gigantism. Decades later, the museum bankrupted, and the first skeleton's specimens were sold to some German spectators in around 1848, who eventually sold it to [[Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt]] in Germany where it is now displayed. The second skeleton's specimens landed eventually at the [[American Museum of Natural History]].<ref name="peale2">{{cite book|last=Thomson|first=Keith Stewart|year=2008|title=The Legacy of the Mastodon|chapter=Chapter&nbsp;6: Fossils and show business: Mr.&nbsp;Peale’s mastodon |publisher=Yale University Press |pages=46–54 }}</ref>

{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | image1= Burning Tree Mastodon excavation (mid-December 1989), Burning Tree Golf Course, Heath, east-central Ohio.jpg
 | image2= Mammut americanum - Burning Tree Mastodon (Upper Pleistocene, 11.39 ka; Burning Tree Golf Course, south of Heath, southern Licking County, central Ohio, USA) 1 (15276264887).jpg
 | total_width = 400
 | total_height= 400
 | footer = Excavation of a specimen in a [[golf course]] in [[Heath, Ohio]], 1989 (left) and a replica of the "[[Burning Tree mastodon]]" complete skeleton (right)
}}
Other skeletons of ''Mammut americanum'' were excavated within the United States in the first half of the 19th century. One of them was collected by American showman [[Albert C. Koch]] in what is today the [[Mastodon State Historic Site]] at [[Missouri]] in 1839. He hypothesized in 1840 that the proboscidean, which he classified as ''Missourium'', was much larger than an elephant, had horizontal tusks plus trunks, and occupied aquatic habitats.<ref name="koch">{{cite journal|last=McMillan|first=R. Bruce|year=2022|title=Albert C. Koch's Missourium and the debate over the contemporaneity of humans and the Pleistocene megafauna of North America|journal=Earth Sciences History|volume=41|issue=2|pages=410–439|doi=10.17704/1944-6187-41.2.410|bibcode=2022ESHis..41..410M }}</ref> He acquired additional fossils from a spring on the [[Pomme de Terre River (Missouri)|Pomme de&nbsp;Terre River]] to assemble a mounted skeleton of the "''Missouri Leviathan''" and briefly exhibited it at {{nobr|[[St. Louis]].}} After exhibiting the skeleton throughout Europe, he sold the skeleton to the [[British Museum of Natural History]]. [[Richard Owen]] then properly reassembled the skeleton, and it today is on display there.<ref name="koch2">{{cite journal|last=McMillan|first=R. Bruce|year=2010|title=The Discovery of Fossil Vertebrates on Missouri's Western Frontier|journal=Earth Sciences History|volume=29|issue=1|pages=26–51|doi=10.17704/eshi.29.1.j034662534721751|bibcode=2010ESHis..29...26M }}</ref><ref name="osborn"/>

In 1845, another skeleton was excavated from Newburgh by laborers hired by Nathaniel Brewster initially to remove [[lacustrine deposits]] to fertilize the neighboring fields. They were observed by a large number of spectators and uncovered relatively complete fossil evidence of ''M.&nbsp;americanum''.<ref name="warren3">{{cite book|last=Warren|first=John Collin|year=1852|title=The Mastodon giganteus of North America|section=Discovery of the skeleton|publisher=John Wilson and Son|pages=4–7|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/126175#page/24/mode/1up}}</ref><ref name="AMNH">{{cite journal|last=Horenstein|first=Sidney|year=2008|title=New York City Mastodons: Big Apple Tusks|journal=Evolution: Education and Outreach|volume=1|issue=2 |pages=204–209|doi=10.1007/s12052-008-0042-y|doi-access=free}}</ref> The skeleton was exhibited in [[New York City]] and other New England towns then was acquired by [[John Collins Warren (surgeon, born 1778)|John Collins Warren]] for study.<ref name="warren2">{{cite book|last=Warren|first=John Collin|year=1852|title=The Mastodon giganteus of North America|section=Geological situation and causes of preservation|publisher=John Wilson and Son|pages=154–167|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/126175#page/174/mode/1up}}</ref><ref name="newyork">{{cite book|last1=Hartnagel|first1=Chris Andrew|last2=Bishop|first2=Sherman Chauncey|year=1922|title=The Mastodons, Mammoths and Other Pleistocene Mammals of New York State: Being a Descriptive Record of All Known Occurrences|publisher=University of the State of New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9rxRAQAAIAAJ}}</ref> After Warren's death in 1856, the skeleton was sent to Warren's family but was traded to [[Harvard Medical School]] for John Warren's skeleton. The "Warren mastodon", under the request of American paleontologist [[Henry Fairfield Osborn]], was purchased by the American financier [[J. P. Morgan]] for $30,000 in 1906 and donated to the American Museum of Natural History where it is exhibited today.<ref name="monsterafter">{{cite book|last=Semonin|first=Paul|year=2000|title=American Monster: How the Nation's First Prehistoric Creature Became a Symbol of National Identity|chapter=Afterword: The Myth of Wild Nature|publisher=NYU Press|pages=392–411}}</ref><ref name="AMNH"/>

==== Early taxonomic history ====
[[File:Mastodon HLMD.jpg|thumb|left|''Mammut'' skeleton previously displayed by Charles Peale at his museum, now on display at [[Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt]]]]
In the 1790s, the "''American incognitum''" was subject to research by multiple taxonomists. Scottish writer [[Robert Kerr (writer)|Robert Kerr]] erected the species name ''Elephas americanus'' in 1792 based on fossil tusks and "grinders" from the Big Bone Lick locality. He stated that the tusks were similar to elephants while the molars were completely different because they were covered with enamel and had a double row of high conical [[cusp (anatomy)|cusp]] processes. Kerr was unsure about the taxonomic affinities of the molars and referenced that [[Thomas Pennant]] supposed that they belong to an unknown species within the genus ''[[Elephas]]'', giving the common name "American elephant".<ref>{{cite book|last=Kerr|first=Robert|year=1792|title=The animal kingdom, or zoological system, of the celebrated Sir Charles Linnæus. containing a complete systematic description, arrangement, and nomenclature, of all the known species and varieties of the mammalia, or animals which give suck to their young Class&nbsp;I Mammalia|publisher=Edinburgh|pages=115–117|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/119041#page/169/mode/1up}}</ref>

German naturalist [[Johann Friedrich Blumenbach]] also followed up with more taxonomic descriptions of fossil proboscideans in 1799. The first fossil species, recovered from Germany, was described as belonging to the newly erected species ''Elephas primigenius''? (now known as ''[[Mammuthus primigenius]]''). The second was what he considered to be an unknown "colossal land monster of the prehistoric world," considering it to be the "mammoth." He created the genus ''Mammut'' and erected the species ''Mammut ohioticum'' based on fossil bones dug up from Ohio in North America. He said that the species was distinguished from other animals of the prehistoric world based on the unusual shapes of the large molars. The genus name "Mammut" refers to the German translation for "mammoth."<ref>{{cite book|last=Blumenbach|first=Johann Friedrich|year=1799|title=Handbuch der Naturgeschichte [6. ed.]|publisher=Göttingen|pages=695–698|url=https://www.deutschestextarchiv.de/book/view/blumenbach_naturgeschichte_1799?p=719}}</ref> The naming of the genus ''Mammut'' in 1799 makes it the second or third genus to be recognized with taxonomic authority given that ''[[Megalonyx]]'' had been named the same year.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hooker|first=Jerry J.|year=2007|title=Bipedal browsing adaptations of the unusual Late Eocene–earliest Oligocene tylopod Anoplotherium (Artiodactyla, Mammalia)|journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society|volume=151|issue=3|pages=609–659|doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.2007.00352.x|doi-access=free}}</ref>

French naturalist [[Georges Cuvier]] also described known fossil proboscidean species back in 1796, although his account was later published in 1799. He considered that the remains uncovered from Siberia were true "mammoths" that had similar dentitions to extant elephants but had some morphological differences. He mentioned the fossil remains that were brought back by Longueil from Ohio back in 1739 and several researchers from previous decades who noted the unusual molars and thought that they belonged to different animals like hippopotamuses. He followed recognition in the previously established species "''Elephas americanus''" and argued that the species was different from elephants and mammoths and cannot be found amongst living animals due to extinction from [[catastrophism]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cuvier|first=Georges|year=1799|title=Mémoire sur les espèces d'éléphans vivantes et fossiles|journal=Mémoires de l'Institut des Sciences et Arts|pages=1–22|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16303001#page/175/mode/1up}}</ref><ref name="arctic">{{cite journal|last=Froese|first=Duane|year=2014|title=The curious case of the Arctic mastodons|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=111|number=52|pages=18405–18406|doi=10.1073/pnas.1422018112|doi-access=free |pmid=25535342 |pmc=4284541}}</ref>

The proboscidean species was subject to several other species names given by other taxonomists within the earliest 18th century as well as the genus name ''Harpagmotherium'' by the Russian naturalist [[Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim]] in 1808.<ref name="osborn">{{cite book|last=Osborn|first=Harry Fairfield|year=1936|title=Proboscidea: a monograph of the discovery, evolution, migration and extinction of the mastodonts and elephants of the world|volume=1|publisher=J. Pierpont Morgan Fund by the trustees of the American Museum of Natural History|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/44913#page/1/mode/1up}}</ref>

==== Cuvier's taxonomy ====
[[File:Mammut Mastodonte Skeleton Cuvier 1806.png|thumb|Sketch of the skeleton of ''Mammut'', labeled as "Mastodonte"]]
In 1806, Cuvier wrote multiple extended research articles on fossil proboscideans of Eurasia and the Americas. He stated that the bones that Buffon previously described from North America were not of elephants but another animal that he referred to as the "''mastodonte''," or the "''animal of Ohio''."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cuvier|first=Georges|year=1806|title=Sur les éléphans vivans et fossiles|journal=Annales du Muséum d'histoire naturelle|volume=8|pages=1–68|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/93165#page/4/mode/1up}}</ref> He reinforced the idea that the extinct "mastodon" was an animal close in relationship to elephants that differed by jaws with large tubercles. He suggested that "mammoth" and "carnivorous elephant" be discontinued as names for the species and that it receive a new genus name instead. Cuvier said that for "''mastodonte''," he derived the name's etymology (compound {{lang|grc|μαστός}} ({{transliteration|grc|mastós}}, "breast") + {{lang|grc|ὀδούς}} ({{transliteration|grc|odoús}}, "tooth")) from [[Ancient Greek]] to mean "nipple tooth," since he thought that it expressed the characteristic form of the teeth.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cuvier|first=Georges|year=1806|title=Sur le grand mastodonte|journal=Annales du Muséum d'histoire naturelle|volume=2|pages=270–312|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/51185#page/312/mode/1up}}</ref>

In 1817, the French naturalist officially established the genus name ''Mastodon'', reaffirming that it is extinct and has left no living descendants. He established that it had an overall body form similar to elephants but had molars more similar to hippopotamuses and pigs that did not serve to grind meat. The first species he erected within ''Mastodon'' was ''Mastodon giganteum'', giving it the informal name "great mastodon" and writing that that it is designated to the Ohio proboscidean with abundant fossil evidence, equal size but greater proportions to modern elephants, and diamond-shaped points of the molars. The naturalist also created the second species name ''Mastodon angustidens'' and gave it the informal name "narrow-toothed mastodon," diagnosing it as having narrower molars, smaller sizes compared to ''M. giganteum'', and range distributions in Europe and South America.<ref name="cuvier1">{{cite book|last=Cuvier|first=Georges|year=1817|title=Le règne animal distribué d'après son organisation : pour servir de base à l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction à l'anatomie comparée|chapter=Sixié ordre des mammiféres. Les pachydermes|publisher=Chez Déterville|pages=227–245|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/18030#page/269/mode/1up}}</ref> Cuvier also erected several other species of ''Mastodon'' originating from other continents in 1824.<ref name="cuvier2">{{cite book|last=Cuvier|first=Georges|year=1824|title=Recherches sur les ossemens fossiles, où l'on rétablit les caractères de plusieurs animaux dont les révolutions du globe ont détruit les espèces|section=Résumé général: Des Animaux dont les caractères ont été indiqués ou rectifiés, ou dont l'Ostéologie a été décrite dans cet ouvrage|volume=5|publisher=G. Dufour and E. d'Ocagne|pages=527–536|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/214698#page/535/mode/1up}}</ref> Despite Cuvier's genus name being younger than multiple other genus names, ''Mastodon'' became the most commonly used genus name for the 19th century.<ref name="mammut">{{cite book|last=Perry Hay|first=Oliver|year=1902|title=Bibliography and catalogue of the fossil vertebrata of North America|publisher=Washington Government Printing Office|pages=707–712|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/59973#page/713/mode/1up}}</ref><ref name="osborn"/>

==== Taxonomic problems ====
[[File:Em - Mammut americanum - 3.jpg|thumb|''M. americanum'' skeleton, [[Natural History Museum, London]]. The skeleton was initially assembled by [[Albert C. Koch]] as "''Missourium''" or "''Leviathan''", both now synonymous with ''Mammut''.]]
"''Mastodon''" was riddled with major taxonomic problems since species now determined as belonging to other proboscidean genera were classified to ''Mastodon'' on the basis of similar dentitions to that of "''Mastodon giganteum''" (= ''Mammut americanum''), effectively making it a [[wastebasket taxon]].<ref name="cuvier1"/><ref name="cuvier2"/><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Mazo|first1=A.V.|last2=van der Made|first2=Jan|year=2012|title=Iberian mastodonts: Geographic and stratigraphic distribution|journal=Quaternary International|volume=255|pages=239–256|doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2011.07.047|bibcode=2012QuInt.255..239M }}</ref> Various fossil proboscidean species were classified into ''Mastodon'' in the 19th century before eventually being reclassified into distinct genera.<ref name="osborn"/> In addition to still-valid species names, several synonymous or dubious species names ultimately belonging to different genera were erected within the Americas as well throughout the 19th century.<ref name="notiomastodon">{{cite journal|last1=Mothé|first1=Dimila|last2=Avilla|first2=Leonardo S.|last3=Cozzuol|first3=Mário|last4=Winck|first4=Gisele R.|year=2012|title=Taxonomic revision of the Quaternary gomphotheres (Mammalia: Proboscidea: Gomphotheriidae) from the South American lowlands|journal=Quaternary International|volume=276–277|pages=2–7|doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2011.05.018|bibcode=2012QuInt.276....2M }}</ref><ref name="rhynchotherium">{{cite journal|last1=Lucas|first1=Spencer G.|last2=Morgan|first2=Gary S.|year=2008|title=Taxonomy of Rhynchotherium (Mammalia, Proboscidea) from the Miocene-Pliocene of North America|journal=New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin|volume=44|pages=71–87|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281863115}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Dalquest|first=Walter W.|year=1975|title=Vertebrate fossils from the Blanco local fauna of Texas|journal=Occasional Papers of the Museum, Texas Tech University|number=30|pages=1–52|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/241967#page/1/mode/1up}}</ref> Also, many species names erected based on ''M.&nbsp;americanum'' remains were erected. As a result, ''M.&nbsp;americanum'' has many synonymous names. The issue of synonymous species names were especially apparent in the first half of the 19th century.<ref name="osborn"/>

Today, the genera that include species formerly classified into ''Mastodon'' include ''[[Gomphotherium]]'' (''G. angustidens'', ''G. pyrenaicum'', ''G. productum'', ''G. libycum'', ''G. subtapiroideum'', ''G. steinheimense''),<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Wang|first1=Shi-Qi|last2=Duangkrayom|first2=Jaroon|last3=Yang|first3=Xiang-Wen|year=2015|title=Occurrence of the Gomphotherium angustidens group in China, based on a revision of Gomphotherium connexum (Hopwood, 1935) and Gomphotherium shensiensis Chang and Zhai, 1978: continental correlation of Gomphotherium species across the Palearctic|journal=Paläontologische Zeitschrift|volume=89|issue=4 |pages=1073–1086|doi=10.1007/s12542-015-0270-8|bibcode=2015PalZ...89.1073W }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Göhlich|first=Ursula B.|year=2010|title=The Proboscidea (Mammalia) from the Miocene of Sandelzhausen (southern Germany)|journal=Paläontologische Zeitschrift|volume=84|number=1|pages=163–204|doi=10.1007/s12542-010-0053-1|bibcode=2010PalZ...84..163G }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Sanders|first=William J.|year=2023|title=Evolution and Fossil Record of African Proboscidea|publisher=CRC Press}}</ref>  ''[[Zygolophodon]]'' (''Z. turicensis'', ''Z. proavus''),<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Duangkrayom|first1=Jaroon|last2=Wang|first2=Shi-Qi|last3=Deng|first3=Tao|last4=Jintasakul|first4=Pratueng|year=2016|title=The first Neogene record of Zygolophodon (Mammalia, Proboscidea) in Thailand: implications for the mammutid evolution and dispersal in Southeast Asia|journal=Journal of Paleontology|volume=91|number=1|pages=179–193|doi=10.1017/jpa.2016.143}}</ref><ref name="neogene">{{cite journal|last1=von Koenigswald|first1=Wighart|last2=Wigda|first2=Chris|last3=Göhlich|first3=Ursula B.|year=2023|title=New mammutids (Proboscidea) from the Clarendonian and Hemphillian of Oregon – a survey of Mio-Pliocene mammutids from North America|journal=The Bulletin of the Museum of Natural History of the University of Oregon|volume=30 |number=30|url=https://journals.oregondigital.org/nat_history/article/view/6004}}</ref> ''[[Cuvieronius]]'' (''C. hyodon''),<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Mead|first1=Jim I.|last2=Arroyo-Cabrales|first2=Joaquin|last3=Swift|first3=Sandra L.|year=2019|title=Late Pleistocene Mammuthus and Cuvieronius (proboscidea) from Térapa, Sonora, Mexico|journal=Quaternary Science Reviews|volume=223|doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.105949|bibcode=2019QSRv..22305949M }}</ref> ''[[Stegodon]]'' (''S. elephantoides''),<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Nanda|first1=A.C.|last2=Sehgal|first2=Ramesh Kumar|last3=Chauhan|first3=Parth R.|year=2018|title=Siwalik-age faunas from the Himalayan Foreland Basin of South Asia|journal=Journal of Asian Earth Sciences|volume=162|pages=54–68|doi=10.1016/j.jseaes.2017.10.035|bibcode=2018JAESc.162...54N }}</ref> ''[[Stegolophodon]]'' (''S. latidens'', ''S. cautleyi''),<ref>{{cite journal|last=Rai|first=R.C.|year=2004|title=Fossil elephants from the Indian sub-continent and their tusks: A review|journal=Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India|volume=49|pages=169–188|url=https://palaeontologicalsociety.in/vol49/v8.pdf}}</ref> ''[[Anancus]]'' (''A. avernensis'', ''A. sivalensis'', ''A. perimensis''),<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hautier|first1=Lionel|last2=Mackaye|first2=Hassane Taisso|last3=Lihoreau|first3=Fabrice|last4=Tassy|first4=Pascal|last5=Vignaud|first5=Patrick|last6=Brunet|first6=Michel|year=2009|title=New material of Anancus kenyensis (proboscidea, mammalia) from Toros-Menalla (Late Miocene, Chad): Contribution to the systematics of African anancines|journal=Journal of African Earth Sciences|volume=53|issue=4–5|pages=171–176|doi=10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2009.01.003|bibcode=2009JAfES..53..171H }}</ref> ''[[Tetralophodon]]'' (''T. longirostris''),<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Wang|first1=Shi-Qi|last2=Saegusa|first2=Haruo|last3=Duangkrayom|first3=Jaroon|last4=He|first4=Wen|last5=Chen|first5=Shan-Qin|year=2017|title=A new species of Tetralophodon from the Linxia Basin and the biostratigraphic significance of tetralophodont gomphotheres from the Upper Miocene of northern China|journal=Palaeoworld|volume=26|issue=4|pages=703–717|doi=10.1016/j.palwor.2017.03.005}}</ref> ''[[Choerolophodon]]'' (''C. pentelici''),<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Konidaris|first1=George|last2=Koufos|first2=George D.|last3=Kostopoulos|first3=Dimitris S.|last4=Merceron|first4=Gildas|year=2016|title=Taxonomy, biostratigraphy and palaeoecology of Choerolophodon (Proboscidea, Mammalia) in the Miocene of SE Europe-SW Asia: Implications for phylogeny and biogeography|journal=Journal of Systematic Palaeontology|volume=14|issue=1|pages=1–27|doi=10.1080/14772019.2014.985339|bibcode=2016JSPal..14....1K }}</ref> ''[[Stegomastodon]]'' (''S. mirificus''),<ref name="stegomastodon">{{cite book|editor-last1=Sullivan|editor-first1=Robert M.|editor-last2=Lucas|editor-first2=Spencer G.|editor-last3=Spielmann|editor-first3=Justin A.|last1=Morgan|first1=Gary S.|last2=Lucas|first2=Spencer G.|year=2011|title=Fossil Record 3|section=Stegomastodon (Mammalia: Proboscidea: Gomphotheriidae) from the Blancan and Irvingtonian (Pliocene and early Pleistocene) of New Mexico|publisher=Bulletin of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science|pages=570–582|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283079006}}</ref> ''[[Rhynchotherium]]'' ("''R.''" ''euhypodon''),<ref name="rhynchotherium"/> ''[[Stenobelodon]]'' (''S. floridanus''),<ref name="stenobelodon">{{cite journal|last=Lambert|first=W. David|year=2023|title=Implications of discoveries of the shovel-tusked gomphothere Konobelodon (Proboscidea, Gomphotheriidae) in Eurasia for the status of Amebelodon with a new genus of shovel-tusked gomphothere, Stenobelodon|journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology|volume=43|issue=1|doi=10.1080/02724634.2023.2252021}}</ref> and ''[[Notiomastodon]]'' (''N. platensis'').<ref name="notiomastodon"/>

In 1830, American naturalist [[John Davidson Godman]] created the genus ''Tetracaulodon'' plus its species ''T. Mastodontoideum'' based on what he determined to be differences between it and ''Mastodon'' based on the skull and dentition.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Godman|first=John Davidson|year=1830|title=Description of a New Genus and New Species of Extinct Mammiferous Quadruped|journal=Transactions of the American Philosophical Society|volume=3|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/24785763#page/532/mode/1up}}</ref> Both [[Richard Harlan]] and [[William Cooper (conchologist)|William Cooper]] pointed out that except for the tusks, all other characteristics of the specimens were consistent with ''M. giganteum''. They therefore argued that there was no reason to assume that the tusks were not just individual variations, a view followed also by [[George William Featherstonhaugh]]. Isaac Hays comparatively defended Godman's taxon, which led to a bitter debate regarding the validity of the genus amongst American naturalists.<ref name="tetracaulodon">{{cite journal|last=Gerstner|first=Patsy A.|year=1970|title=Vertebrate Paleontology, an Early Nineteenth-Century Transatlantic Science|journal=Journal of the History of Biology|volume=3|number=1|pages=137–148|doi=10.1007/BF00569310 |jstor=4330534 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4330534|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

The validities of both ''Tetracaulodon'' and ''Missourium'' were rejected by Owen in 1842, although he retained the former name informally.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Owen|first=Richard|year=1842|title=Report on the Missourium now exhibiting at the Egyptian Hall|journal=Proceedings of the Geological Society of London|volume=3|number=2|pages=689–695|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/96958#page/717/mode/1up}}</ref> By 1869, American paleontologist [[Joseph Leidy]] determined that ''Mastodon americanus'' is the senior species synonym and listed ''M. giganteum'' as a junior synonym. He also listed ''Mammut'', ''Harpagmotherium'', ''Mastotherium'', ''Missourium'', and ''Leviathan'' as synonyms of ''Mastodon''. He also noted that ''M.&nbsp;americanum'' as a species was highly variable in morphology.<ref>{{cite book|last=Leidy|first=Joseph|year=1869|title=The extinct mammalian fauna of Dakota and Nebraska : Including an account of some allied forms from other localities, together with a synopsis of the mammalian remains of North America|publisher=J.B. Lippincott|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/60918#page/398/mode/1up}}</ref><ref name="utah">{{cite journal|last=Miller|first=Wade E.|year=1987|title=Mammut americanum, Utah's First Record of the American Mastodon|journal=Journal of Paleontology|volume=61|number=1|pages=168–183|doi=10.1017/S0022336000028316 |jstor=1305142 |bibcode=1987JPal...61..168M |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1305142|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In 1902, American paleontologist [[Oliver Perry Hay]] listed ''Mammut'' as the prioritized genus name given its status as the oldest genus name, making ''Mastodon'', ''Tetracaulodon'', and ''Missourium'' classified as junior synonyms. He also established ''M.&nbsp;americanum'' as the type species.<ref name="mammut"/> The genus name ''Mastodon'' was subsequently abandoned by many American paleontologists in favor of ''Mammut'' within the early 20th century.<ref name="etymology">{{cite journal|last=Palmer|first=Theodore Sherman|year=1904|title=A List of the Genera and Families of Mammals|journal=North American Fauna|issue=23|doi=10.3996/nafa.23.0001 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/83341#page/405/mode/1up|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Lull|first=Richard Swann|year=1908|title=The Evolution of the Elephant|journal=American Journal of Science|series=4|volume=25|issue=147 |pages=169–212|doi=10.2475/ajs.s4-25.147.169 |bibcode=1908AmJS...25..169L |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40227522#page/193/mode/1up}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hay|first=Oliver P.|year=1923|title=The Pleistocene of North America and its vertebrated animals from the states east of the Mississippi River and from the Canadian provinces east of longitude 95°|publisher=Carnegie Institution of Washington|number=322|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/66297#page/4/mode/1up}}</ref><ref name="osborn"/> In 1942, American paleontologist [[George Gaylord Simpson]] said that for his study, he prioritized the historic plus taxonomically correct name ''Mammut'' over ''Mastodon''.<ref name="beginnings">{{cite journal|last=Simpson|first=George Gaylord|year=1942|title=The Beginnings of Vertebrate Paleontology in North America|journal=Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society|volume=86|number=1|pages=130–188|jstor=985085 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/985085}}</ref> He continued prioritizing ''Mammut'' in 1945, stating that people were generally aware of its taxonomic priorities over ''Mastodon'' and that people had refused to use it. He stated that he did not want to either but reluctantly set aside his personal preferences to follow taxonomic rules.<ref>{{cite book|last=Simpson|first=George Gaylord|year=1945|title=The Principles of Classification and a Classification of Mammals|publisher=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History|volume=85|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=28TPAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>

==== Additional species ====
[[File:Pliomastodon Mammut vexillarius skull drawing.png|thumb|left|Sketch of the reconstructed skull of "''Pliomastodon vexillarius''" (= ''Mammut vexillarius''), 1930]]
In 1921, Osborn created the species name ''Mastodon matthewi'' based on distinct molars from the [[Snake Creek Formation]] of western [[Nebraska]], naming it in honor of [[William Diller Matthew]]. He also erected another species ''M. merriami'' from the [[Thousand Creek Formation]] in [[Nevada]], which was eventually synonymized with ''Zygolophodon proavus''.<ref name="matthewi">{{cite journal|last=Osborn|first=Henry Fairfield|year=1921|title=First appearance of the true mastodon in America|journal=American Museum Novitates|number=10|pages=1–6|doi=10.1126/science.54.1388.108 |pmid=17734372 |bibcode=1921Sci....54..108F |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/26890426#page/135/mode/1up}}</ref><ref name="neogene"/> Osborn in 1926 followed up for ''Mastodon matthewi'' by establishing the genus ''Pliomastodon'' for the species based on cranial differences from "''Miomastodon''" (= ''Zygolophodon'').<ref>{{cite journal|last=Osborn|first=Henry Fairfield|year=1926|title=Additional new genera and species of the mastodontoid proboscidea|journal=American Museum Novitates|number=238|pages=1–16|url=https://digitallibrary.amnh.org/items/94c50ee5-2dc1-4788-a440-cd135a90bffe}}</ref>

In 1930, Matthew erected a second species for ''Pliomastodon'' named ''P. vexillarius'' based on fossil material from the locality of [[Elephant Hill (California)|Elephant Hill]] in [[California]], determining that it differs from ''Mammut'' by differences in the skull and that the etymology of the species name was made in honor of paleontological contributions by the [[Standard Oil Company]] of California.<ref name="vexillarius">{{cite journal|last=Matthew|first=William Diller|year=1930|title=A Pliocene mastodon skull from California: Pliomastodon vexillarius n. sp|journal=University of California Publications in Geological Sciences|volume=19|issue=16|pages=336–348}}</ref><ref name="neogene"/>

In 1933, [[Childs Frick]] named the species ''Mastodon raki'' from the locality of [[Truth or Consequences, New Mexico|Truth or Consequences]], [[New Mexico]] based on differences on the [[heel]] and M<sub>3</sub> tooth from ''M.&nbsp;americanus'', otherwise having proportions similar to it.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Frick|first=Childs|year=1933|title=New remains of trilophodont-tetrabelodont mastodonts|journal=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History|volume=59|pages=505–652}}</ref><ref name="neogene"/> In 1936, [[Chester Stock]] published the species name ''Pliomastodon nevadanus'' based on fossils from the Thousand Creek Beds of northwestern Nevada.<ref name="nevadanum">{{cite journal|last=Stock|first=Chester|year=1936|title=A Pliomastodon skull from the Thousand Creek beds, northwestern Nevada|journal=Contributions to Palaeontology|volume=3|number=473|pages=35–39|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/322843#page/57/mode/1up}}</ref> In 1937, John R. Schultz created the species name ''Pliomastodon? cosoensis'', naming it after the [[Coso Range|Coso Mountains]] in [[Inyo County]], California where skull fossils were recovered.<ref name="cosoensis">{{cite journal|last=Schultz|first=John R.|year=1937|title=A late Cenozoic vertebrate fauna from the Coso Mountains, Inyo County, California|journal=Carnegie Institution of Washington Publications|pages=77–109|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/322907#page/95/mode/1up}}</ref>

In 1963, J. Arnold Shotwell and Donald E. Russell designated another species ''Mammut (Pliomastodon) furlongi'', assigning it to fossils collected from the [[Juntura Formation]] of Oregon. The species name was created in honor of [[Eustace L. Furlong]], who made early fossil collections from the western side of the Juntura Basin.<ref name="furlongi">{{cite journal|last1=Shotwell|first1=J. Arnold|last2=Russell|first2=Donald E.|year=1963|title=Mammalian fauna of the upper Juntura Formation, the Black Butte local fauna|journal=Transactions of the American Philosophical Society|volume=53|pages=42–69}}</ref>

The genus ''Pliomastodon'' was synonymized with ''Mammut'' while ''Miomastodon'' was synonymized with ''Zygolophodon'' by [[Jeheskel Shoshani]] and [[Pascal Tassy]] in a 1996 appendix,<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Shoshani|editor-first1=Jeheskel|editor-last2=Tassy|editor-first2=Pascal|year=1996|title=The Proboscidea: Evolution and Palaeoecology of Elephants and Their Relatives|section=Appendix B|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=352–353|isbn=978-0-19-854652-8}}</ref> a view that was followed by other authors in later years.<ref name="tertiary">{{cite book|editor-last1=Janis|editor-first1=Christine M.|editor-last2=Scott|editor-first2=Kathleen M.|editor-last3=Jacobs|editor-first3=Louis L.|last1=Lambert|first1=W. David|last2=Shoshani|first2=Jeheskel|year=1998|title=Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America: Volume 1, Terrestrial Carnivores, Ungulates, and Ungulate like Mammals|section=Proboscidea|publisher=Cambridge University Press, New York|pages=606–621}}</ref><ref name="pacificum">{{cite journal|last1=Dooley Jr.|first1=Alton C.|last2=Scott|first2=Eric|last3=Green|first3=Jeremy|last4=Springer|first4=Kathleen B.|last5=Dooley|first5=Brett S.|last6=Smith|first6=Gregory James|year=2019|title=Mammut pacificus sp. nov., a newly recognized species of mastodon from the Pleistocene of western North America|journal=PeerJ|volume=7|pages=e6614 |doi=10.7717/peerj.6614|doi-access=free|pmid=30944777 |pmc=6441323 }}</ref><ref name="neogene"/>

In 2019, Alton C. Dooley Jr. et al. established ''Mammut pacificus'' based on fossils collected from the [[Diamond Valley Lake]] in [[Hemet, California|Hemet]], California. They also stated that ''M. oregonense'' is a ''[[nomen dubium]]'' and that further analysis needs to be done to confirm whether or not ''M. furlongi'' belongs to ''Zygolophodon'' instead.<ref name="pacificum"/>

In 2023, Wighart von Koenigswald et al. reviewed the North American species of ''Zygolophodon'' and ''Mammut''. They synonymized ''P. adamsi'' and ''P. sellardsi'' with ''Mammut matthewi'' and emended ''M. nevadanus'' and ''M. pacificus'' to ''M. nevadanum'' and ''M. pacificum'', respectively. They also said that they were uncertain of the taxonomic status of ''M. furlongi'', specifically whether or not it was a variant of [[sexual dimorphism]] of ''Z. proavus''. Some authors have considered ''M. nevadanum'' to be synonymous with ''M. matthewi'' while others had retained validity of the species name.<ref name="neogene"/><ref name="pacificum"/>

Several mammutid species outside of North America are classified to ''Mammut'' (or "''Pliomastodon''"), namely ''M. borsoni'', ''M. obliquelophus'', ''M. zhupengensis'', and ''M. lufugense'' (possibly synonymous with ''M. obliquelophus'').<ref name="borsoni">{{cite journal|last1=von Koenigswald|first1=Wighart|last2=Březina|first2=Jakub|last3=Werneburg|first3=Ralf|last4=Göhlich|first4=Ursula B.|year=2022|title=A partial skeleton of "Mammut" borsoni (Proboscidea, Mammalia) from the Pliocene of Kaltensundheim (Germany)|journal=Palaeontologia Electronica|number=25.1.a10|doi=10.26879/1188|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="obliquelophus">{{cite journal|last1=Yaghoubi|first1=Sadaf|last2=Ashouri|first2=Ali Reza|last3=Ataabadi|first3=Majid Mirzaie|last4=Ghaderi|first4=Abbas|year=2023|title=First true mastodon from the Late Miocene of Western Asia|journal=Research Square|doi=10.21203/rs.3.rs-3046011/v1}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Shiqi|first1=Wang|last2=Chun-Xiao|first2=Li|last3=Xiao-Xiao|first3=Zhang|year=2021|title=On the scientific names of mastodont taxa: nomenclature, Chinese translation, and taxonomic problems|journal=Vertebrata PalAsiatica|volume=59|issue=4|pages=295–332|doi=10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.210728}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Wang|first=Shiqi|year=2023|title=中国新近纪大型植食性哺乳动物演化和生物地层|journal=Quaternary Studies|volume=43|number=3|pages=637–672|doi=10.11928/j.issn.1001-7410.2023.03.01}}</ref> Recent research such as that of von Koenigswald et al. in 2023 warned that the genus ''Mammut'' should be carefully used for non-North American species.<ref name="neogene"/>

=== Classification and evolution ===
[[File:Johann Friedrich Blumenbach.jpg|thumb|left|Portrait of [[Johann Friedrich Blumenbach]], who erected the genus ''Mammut'' in 1799]]
''Mammut'' is the [[type genus]] of the [[Mammutidae]], the sole family of the [[elephantimorph]] clade [[Mammutida]] (the other elephantimorph clade is [[Elephantida]]). The Mammutidae is characterized by molars with zygodont-form crests, which have remained morphologically conservative throughout the evolutionary history of the family. ''Mammut'' is considered to be a derived genus of the family because of strong zygodont development.<ref name="greece">{{cite book|editor-last=Vlachos|editor-first=Evangelos|last1=Konidaris|first1=George E.|last2=Tsoukala|first2=Evangelia|year=2021|title=Fossil Vertebrates of Greece Vol. 1: Basal vertebrates, Amphibians, Reptiles, Afrotherians, Glires, and Primates|chapter=The Fossil Record of the Neogene Proboscidea (Mammalia) in Greece|publisher=Springer Cham|volume=1|pages=299–344|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-68398-6_12|isbn=978-3-030-68397-9 }}</ref> As a family of the Elephantimorpha clade, it is only distantly related to the [[Deinotheriidae]] due to major differences in dentition and emergence of adult teeth.<ref name="sanders"/> The Mammutidae is identified as a [[monophyletic]] clade, meaning that it did not leave any derived descendant groups in its evolutionary history.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Shi-Qi|first1=Wang|last2=Yu|first2=Li|last3=Duangkrayom|first3=Jaroon|last4=Shao-Kun|first4=Chen|last5=Wen|first5=He|last6=Shan-Qui|first6=Shen|year=2017|title=Early Mammut from the Upper Miocene of northern China, and its implications for the evolution and differentiation of Mammutidae|journal=Vertebrata PalAsiatica|volume=55|issue=3|pages=233–256|url=https://chinaxiv.org/user/view.htm?uuid=ea7f7df31b0a4d62a991311874964ed9&filetype=pdf}}</ref> The monophyly of the Mammutidae makes it differ from the Elephantida, where the [[Gomphotheriidae]] is [[paraphyletic]] (or ancestral to more derived descendant groups in the cladistic sense) in relation to the derived [[elephantoid]] families [[Stegodontidae]] and [[Elephantidae]] (elephants, mammoths, and relatives).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Mothé|first1=Dimila|last2=Avilla|first2=Leonardo S.|last3=Cozzuol|first3=Mario A.|year=2012|title=The South American Gomphotheres (Mammalia, Proboscidea, Gomphotheriidae): Taxonomy, Phylogeny, and Biogeography|journal=Journal of Mammalian Evolution|volume=20|pages=23–32|doi=10.1007/s10914-012-9192-3}}</ref>

Although the separation of the Mammutida and Elephantida is strongly supported based on morphological differences, their origins within the late [[Paleogene]] remain uncertain. One hypothesis asserts that the Elephantimorpha is monophyletic if the primitive [[Elephantiformes]] genus ''[[Phiomia]]'' was truly ancestral to both the Elephantida and Mammutida. An alternate hypothesis suggests that the Elephantimorpha is diphyletic because ''Phiomia'' is ancestral to gomphotheres while ''[[Palaeomastodon]]'' is ancestral to mammutids.<ref name="sanders">{{cite book|last=Sanders|first=William J.|year=2023|title=Evolution and Fossil Record of African Proboscidea|chapter=Chapter 1: Context of African Proboscidean Evolution|publisher=CRC Press|pages=1–17|doi=10.1201/b20016-1}}</ref> The earliest undisputed mammutid genus ''[[Losodokodon]]'' is recorded in [[Kenya]], Africa and firmly establishes the earliest presence of mammutids in the late [[Oligocene]] (~27-24 Ma). The Mammutidae, like other Paleogene proboscideans, was therefore an endemic radiation within the continent akin to other endemic mammals like [[arsinoithere]]s, [[hyracoid]]s, and [[catarrhine]] [[primates]] plus non-endemics such as [[anthracothere]]s and [[hyaenodont]]s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sanders|first=William J.|year=2023|title=Evolution and Fossil Record of African Proboscidea|chapter=Chapter 3:Late Paleogene: First Major Diversification and Adaptive Radiation of Proboscideans|publisher=CRC Press|pages=45–99|doi=10.1201/b20016-3}}</ref>

In the early [[Neogene]] phase of evolution, ''[[Eozygodon]]'' made an appearance in the earliest [[Miocene]] (~23-20 Ma) of Africa after ''Losodokodon''. ''Eozygodon'' was subsequently succeeded by ''Zygolophodon'' by the early Miocene, and the latter dispersed into Eurasia by around 19-18 million years ago, and into North America by the middle Miocene. The dispersal of mammutids between Africa and Eurasia may have occurred multiple times. The Mammutidae eventually went extinct in Africa prior to the late Miocene.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sanders|first=William J.|year=2023|title=Evolution and Fossil Record of African Proboscidea|chapter=Chapter 3: Early and Middle Miocene Diversification of Proboscideans and Dominance of Elephantimorphs|publisher=CRC Press|pages=101–148|doi=10.1201/b20016-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jiangzuo|first1=Qigao|last2=Wang|first2=Shi-Qi|year=2023|title=Northeastern Asia humidification at the end of the Miocene drives the boost of mammalian dispersals from the Old to New World|journal=Journal of Palaeogeography|volume=12|issue=1|pages=50–68|doi=10.1016/j.jop.2022.09.002|doi-access=free|bibcode=2023JPalG..12...50J }}</ref><ref name="borsoni" />

''Mammut'' as currently defined ''sensu lato'' (in a broad sense) is most likely [[polyphyletic]] (comprising several unrelated groups). This is because the inclusion of Eurasian mammutid species into ''Mammut'' implies that they share a common origin with North American ''Mammut'', but this relationship has been doubted. As a result, these Eurasian species may belong to either other existing mammutid genera or entirely new genera. ''[["Mammut" borsoni]],'' the last Eurasian mammutid, became extinct during the earliest [[Pleistocene]], around 2.5-2&nbsp;million years ago.<ref name="borsoni" />

[[File:Mastodon mother & child.jpg|thumb|Skeletons of an adult and calf ''M.&nbsp;americanum'', [[La Brea Tar Pits|George C. Page Museum]]]] 
The oldest evidence of mammutids in North America is of a fragmentary molar of ''Zygolophodon'' sp. from [[Massacre Lake]], Nevada, dating to 16.5-16.4&nbsp;Ma (during the [[Hemingfordian]] stage of the [[North American land mammal age]]s (NALMA)). The only definitively defined species of ''Zygolophodon'' from North America is ''Z.&nbsp;proavus'', which occurs in the [[Barstovian]] and [[Clarendonian]] stages. ''M? furlongi'' from the Black Butte in Oregon also dates back to the Clarendonian stage, but the affinities of the species remains unclear. If it truly is a species of ''Mammut'', then its earliest temporal range is recorded at about 10&nbsp;Ma. The earliest undisputed appearance of ''Mammut'' is of ''M.&nbsp;nevadanum'' from Thousand Creek Beds, dating back to the early [[Hemphillian]], or 8.0-7.1&nbsp;Ma. Historically, North American paleontologists considered that North American ''Zygolophodon'' evolved into ''Mammut'' in an endemic fashion while European workers generally thought that ''Mammut'' was a Eurasian immigrant that replaced North American ''Zygolophodon'' during the Miocene or [[Pliocene]]. Current evidence supports an endemic origin of North American ''Mammut'' from ''Zygolophodon'' without later migration because of the gradual appearance of ''Mammut'' morphologies and a lack of solid evidence that ''Mammut'' ''sensu stricto'' (in a strict sense) ever dispersed outside of North America.<ref name="neogene"/>

''M. matthewi'' is recorded from the late Hemphillian to early [[Blancan]] stages. Mammutid specimens of the Hemphillian and Blancan had typically previously been assigned to ''M.&nbsp;matthewi'', but this is seemingly the result of overreliance on stratigraphic positions to define taxa. ''M.&nbsp;vexillarius'', ''M.&nbsp;raki'', and ''M.&nbsp;cosoensis'' are definitively recorded from the Blancan, and ''M.&nbsp;raki'' specifically is thought to not be synonymous with ''M.&nbsp;pacificum''.<ref name="neogene"/> ''M.&nbsp;americanum'' (known popularly as an "American mastodon" or simply "mastodon") is also stratigraphically recorded first from the early Blancan of the [[Ringold Formation]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]]. The age of the formation where the mammutid specimen was found dates to about 3.75&nbsp;Ma. It is also known from multiple other Blancan sites such as Fish Springs Flat in Nevada.<ref name="neogene"/><ref>{{cite journal|last=Pasenko|first=Michael|year=2011|title=A Specimen of Mammut americanum (Proboscidea, Mammalia) from Yavapai County, West-Central Arizona|journal=Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science|volume=42|issue=2|pages=61–64|doi=10.2181/036.042.0201}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |last=Ruez |first=Dennis Russell, Jr. |year=2007 |title=Effects of climate change on mammalian fauna composition and structure during the advent of North American continental glaciation in the Pliocene |publisher=[[University of Texas at Austin|University of Texas]] |place=Austin, TX |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/304831808|id={{ProQuest|304831808}} }}</ref> From the [[Irvingtonian]] to the [[Rancholabrean]] (from around 1.6&nbsp;million to 11,000&nbsp;years ago), only ''M.&nbsp;americanum'' and the newly appearing ''M.&nbsp;pacificum'' are recorded, the former having an exceptional level of diversity based on abundant skeletal evidences from the late Pleistocene that is unusual for the typical mammutid fossil record.<ref name="pacificum"/><ref name="neogene"/>

The following cladogram defines the phylogeny of certain proboscideans, a majority known from [[endocast]]s, including ''M.&nbsp;americanum'':<ref name="endocast">{{cite book |editor1-last=Dozo |editor1-first=María Teresa |editor2-last=Paulina-Carabajal |editor2-first=Ariana|editor3-last=Macrini|editor3-first=Thomas E. |editor4-last=Walsh |editor4-first=Stig |last1=Benoit|first1=Julien|last2=Lyras |first2=George A. |last3=Schmitt |first3=Arnaud |last4=Nxumalo |first4=Mpilo |last5=Tabuce|first5=Rodolphe|last6=Obada |first6=Teodor |last7=Mararsecul |first7=Vladislav |last8=Manger |first8=Paul |display-authors=6 |year=2022 |title=Paleoneurology of Amniotes: New directions in the study of fossil endocasts |chapter=Paleoneurology of the Proboscidea (Mammalia, Afrotheria): Insights from their brain endocast and labyrinth |publisher=Springer Cham |pages=579–644 |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-13983-3_15 |isbn=978-3-031-13982-6 |chapter-url=https://hal.umontpellier.fr/hal-04295685/file/Benoit-et-al-TEM.pdf }}</ref>

{{clade
|grouplabel1={{clade labels |label1="plesielephantiforms" |top1=9%
                            |label2="mastodonts"          |top2=46%
                            }}
|label1=[[Proboscidea]]
|1={{clade
   |1=''[[Phosphatherium esculliei]]''  [[File:Phosphatherium - head restoration.tif|50px]]  |bar1=green
   |2={{clade
      |1=''[[Numidotherium koholense]]''  [[File:Numidotherium koholense skull.png|50px]] |bar1=green
      |2={{clade
         |1=''[[Moeritherium lyonsi]]''  [[File:Moeritherium NT crop.jpg|50px]]  |bar1=green
         |2={{clade
            |1=[[Deinotheriidae]]  [[File:Deinotherium12.jpg|40px]]        |bar1=green
            |label2=[[Elephantiformes]]
            |2={{clade
               |1=''[[Palaeomastodon beadnelli]]''  [[File:Palaeomastodon NT small.jpg|50px]] 
               |label2=[[Elephantimorpha]]
               |2={{clade
                  |1={{clade
                     |label1=[[Mammutidae]]
                     |1={{clade
                        |1='''''Mammut americanum'''''  [[File:Mammut americanum.png|50px]] 
                        |2=''[["Mammut" borsoni]]''  [[File:Mammut borsoni from Milia.jpg|50px]] 
                        }}
                     }}
                  |2={{clade
                     |1=''[[Choerolophodon pentelici]]''      |bar1=purple
                     |2={{clade
                        |1=''[[Gomphotherium augustidens]]''  [[File:Gomphotherium NT small (flipped).jpg|50px]]  |bar1=purple
                        |2={{clade
                           |1=''[[Cuvieronius andium]]''  [[File:Cuvieronius hyodon2.jpg|50px]]       |bar1=purple
                           |2=''[[Stegomastodon humboldti]]''  [[File:Stegomastodon sp.png|50px]] |bar2=purple
                           |label3=[[Elephantoidea]]
                           |3={{clade
                              |1=''[[Stegodon insignis]]''  [[File:Stegodon ganesaDB.jpg|50px]]
                              |label2=[[Elephantidae]]
                              |2={{clade
                                 |1={{clade
                                    |1={{clade
                                       |1=''[[Mammuthus meridionalis]]''  [[File:Mammuthus meridionalis reconstruction 2.jpg|50px]]
                                       |2=''[[Mammuthus primigenius]]''  [[File:202003 Woolly mammoth.png|50px]]
                                       |3=''[[Mammuthus columbi]]''  [[File:Archidiskodon imperator121.jpg|50px]]
                                       }}
                                    |2=''[[Elephas maximus]]''  [[File:Indian elephant (PSF).png|50px]]
                                    }}
                                 |2=''[[Loxodonta africana]]''  [[File:African elephant (PSF).png|50px]]
                                 |label3=''[[Palaeoloxodon]]''
                                 |3={{clade
                                    |1=''[[Palaeoloxodon antiquus]]''  [[File:Palaeoloxodon_antiquus_size_comparison.png|50px]]
                                    |2=''[[Palaeoloxodon falconeri]]''  [[File:Palaeoloxodon_falconeri_Size_Comparison.svg|40px]]
                                    }}
                                 }}
                              }}
                           }}
                        }}
                     }}
                  }}
               }}
            }}
         }}
      }}
   }}
}}