Mastodons (Greek: μαστός "breast" and ὀδούς, "tooth") are any species of extinct elephants in the genus Mammut, distantly related to elephants, that inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction 10,000 to 11,000 years ago. Mastodons lived in herds and were predominantly forest dwelling animals that fed on a mixed diet obtained by browsing and grazing with a seasonal preference for browsing, similar to living elephants.
M. americanum, the American mastodon, is the youngest and best-known species of the genus. They disappeared from North America as part of a mass extinction of most of the Pleistocene megafauna, widely presumed to have been related to overexploitation by Clovis hunters, and possibly also to climate change.
Mastodon in The Opening of the World[]
Mastodons lived in the Raumsdalian Empire, and had a range which extended as far south as the area around Count Hamnet Thyssen's castle. When the Rulers from beyond the Glacier invaded Raumsdalia, many people mistook their riding mammoths for mastodons.
See also[]
- Woolly mammoth, a related extinct elephant.
- Mammyth, a fantasy elephant species in "The Mammyth."
- Omphoth, an elephant-like extraterrestrial animal in the Earthgrip universe.
References[]
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