| Konobelodon | |
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| Mandible ofKonobelodon britti on display at theState Museum of Pennsylvania | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Proboscidea |
| Family: | †Amebelodontidae |
| Genus: | †Konobelodon Lambert, 1990 |
| Species | |
Konobelodon is an extinct genus ofamebelodont proboscidean from theMiocene of Africa, Eurasia and North America.
Konobelodon was originally coined as a subgenus ofAmebelodon,[2] and was subsequently elevated to full generic rank in a 2014 re-appraisal of"Mastodon" atticus.[3] Within Amebelodontinae,Konobelodon is closely related toPlatybelodon andTorynobelodon.[1] The genusKonobelodon likely originated in eastern Eurasia, withK. robustus being known from theLiushu Formation in theGansu Province ofChina.[4] Under this hypothesis, it diverged via separate migrations westward into Europe and western Asia, represented byK. atticus, and eastward into North America, where the genus arrived c. 7Ma and survived until the very end of the Miocene.[3] The speciesKonobelodon cyrenaicus is known from the Late Miocene of North Africa, representing the latest surviving amebelodont on the African continent.[5]
As shovel-tusked amebelodonts,Konobelodon has two pairs oftusks, one growing from the upper jaw and a second from the lower.K. robustus is estimated to have had a body mass between 2,802–7,367 kilograms (6,177–16,241 lb), making it generally larger than mostgomphotheres on account of its thicker limb bones. Its standing posture, however, was not likely as column-like as that of extantelephants and Americanbrevirostrine gomphotheres.[4] The lower tusks were proportionally large, reaching 1.61 metres (5.3 ft) in length.[6]
Konobelodon is suggested to have been abrowser, based ondental microwear analysis. The upper tusks were likely used for slicing and scraping, while the lower tusks may have been used for digging.[7]
Genera of the orderProboscidea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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