Gomphotherium

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Gomphotherium (Template:IPAc-en; "nail beast" for its double set of straight tusks) is an extinct genus of gomphothere proboscidean from the Neogene of Eurasia, Africa and North America.[1][2] It is the most diverse genus of gompothere, with over a dozen valid species. The genus is probably paraphyletic.[3][4]

Description

File:Gomphotherium skeletals.png
Skeletal restoration of G. productum (right) and G. steinheimense (left) compared to a human

Most species of Gomphotherium were similar in size to the Asian elephant, with G. productum (known from a 35-year-old male) measuring Script error: No such module "convert". tall and weighing Script error: No such module "convert".. The largest species G. steinheimense, known from a complete 37-year-old male found in Mühldorf, Germany, measured up to Script error: No such module "convert". tall and weighed Script error: No such module "convert"..[5]

Gomphotherium, like most basal elephantimorphs, had an elongated lower jaw which bore tusks.[6] Species of Gomphotherium are defined by their conservative molar morphology, which includes "trilophed intermediate molars, third molars with three to four loph(id)s, and pretrite half-loph(id)s typically with anterior and posterior accessory conules that form trefoil-patterned enamel loops with wear (simple molar crowns with no accessory conules on the posttrite side of the crown)".[7]

Ecology

Most species of Gomphotherium are inferred to have been browsers or mixed feeders, but specimens of G. steinheimense from China are suggested to have been grazers.[3] Oxygen and carbon isotopes from G. productum enamel unearthed in the Port of Entry Pit, Oklahoma reveal it fed predominantly on C3 plants year-round.[8]

Evolution

Gomphotherium likely originated in Africa during the late Oligocene-early Miocene. The oldest remains of Gomphotherium are known from Africa, dating to approximately 19.5 million years ago.[9] Gomphotherium migrated into Eurasia across the "Gomphotherium land bridge" approximately 19 million years ago.[10] Gomphotherium underwent rapid evolution after its arrival in Eurasia, reaching its peak diversity during the Early-Middle Miocene.[10] Gomphotherium has been posited to be paraphyletic and the ancestor of later gomphothere genera, including the "tetralophodont gomphotheres" such as Tetralophodon which are probably ancestral to stegodontids and elephantids.[3] Gomphotherium first arrived in North America during the mid-Miocene, approximately 16-15 million years ago,[11] and is suggested to be ancestral to later New World gomphothere genera, such as Cuvieronius, Stegomastodon and Rhynchotherium.[12] Asian populations of Gomphotherium are suggested to have been ancestral to Sinomastodon.[13] The last European species of Gomphotherium became extinct at the beginning of the Late Miocene, around the start of MN9, approximately 10 million years ago.[13] The last Gomphotherium species disappeared from North America at the beginning of the Pliocene, approximately 5 million years ago.[11]

Taxonomy

Species

File:AMNH Gomphotherium productum.jpg
Detail of Gomphotherium skeleton at the American Museum of Natural History
File:Gomphotherium productum skeleton 3 (cropped).jpg
Front view of G. productum. Collected from Clarendon, Texas. At the AMNH.

Over a dozen species of Gomphotherium are considered valid, with over 30 junior synonyms proposed for these taxa.[14]

  • G. hannibali Welcomme, 1994 Europe, Early Miocene
  • G. annectens (Matsumoto, 1925) Japan, Early Miocene
  • G. cooperi (Osborn, 1932) Asia, Early Miocene
  • G. sylvaticum Tassy, 1985 Europe, Early Miocene
  • G. libycum (Fourtau, 1918) Egypt, Early Miocene
  • G. inopinatum (Borissiak and Belyaeva, 1928) China, late Early Miocene-Early middle Miocene
  • G. mongoliense (Osborn, 1924) Mongolia, late Early Miocene-Early middle Miocene
  • G. angustidens (Cuvier, 1817) (type) Europe, Middle Miocene
  • G. subtapiroideum (Schlesinger, 1917) Europe, Early-Middle Miocene
  • G. tassyi Wang, Li, Duangkrayom, Yang, He & Chen, 2017 China, Middle Miocene
  • G. browni (Osborn, 1926) Pakistan, Middle Miocene
  • G. steinheimense (Klahn, 1922) Europe, China, Middle-Late Miocene
  • G. productum (Cope, 1874) North America, Middle Miocene-Early Pliocene
  • G. pyrenaicum (Lartet, 1859) Europe, Middle Miocene[15]

Phylogeny after Wang et al., 2017[14]

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References

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  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Palmer, T. S.; Merriam, C. H. (1904). Index generum mammalium: a list of the genera and families of mammals. Government Printing Office, Washington.
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  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Spencer LG 2022. The last North American gomphotheres. N Mex Mus Nat Hist Sci. 88:45–58.
  13. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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