| Elephantiformes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Skull ofPhiomia | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Proboscidea |
| Suborder: | Elephantiformes Tassy, 1988 |
| Subgroups[1] | |
Elephantiformes is asuborder within the orderProboscidea.[1] Members of this group are primitively characterised by the possession of upper tusks, an elongatedmandibular symphysis (the frontmost part of the lower jaw) and lower tusks, and the retraction of the facial region of the skull indicative of the development of a trunk.[2] The earliest known member of the group,Dagbatitherium is known from theEocene (Lutetian) ofTogo, which is only known from isolated teeth, while other primitive elephantiforms likePhiomia andPalaeomastodon are known from theEarly Oligocene onwards.[3]Phiomia andPalaeomastodon are often collectively referred to as "palaeomastodonts" and assigned to the family Palaeomastodontidae.[4] Most diversity of the group is placed in the subcladeElephantimorpha, which includesmastodons (familyMammutidae), as well as modern elephants andgomphotheres (Elephantida),[3] which are distinguished from more primitive elephantiforms by the development of horizontal tooth replacement.[5] It is disputed as to whetherPhiomia is closely related to bothMammutidae andElephantida withPalaeomastodon being morebasal, or ifPalaeomastodon is closely related to Mammutidae andPhiomia more closely related to Elephantida.[4]
Phylogeny of Proboscidea including Elephantiformes, following Hautier et al. 2021[3]
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