mastodon

mastodon
mastodonic, adj.
/mas"teuh don'/, n.
1. a massive, elephantlike mammal of the genus Mammut (Mastodon), that flourished worldwide from the Miocene through the Pleistocene epochs and, in North America, into recent times, having long, curved upper tusks and, in the male, short lower tusks.
2. a person of immense size, power, influence, etc.
[1805-15; < NL < Gk mast(ós) breast + odón tooth]

* * *

Any of several extinct elephant species (genus Mastodon) that lived worldwide 23.

7 million–10,000 years ago or later in North America, where they were contemporaneous with historic American Indian groups. Well-preserved remains are quite common. Mastodons ate leaves and had small grinding teeth and long, parallel, upward-curving upper tusks; males also had short lower tusks. Shorter than modern elephants, they had long, heavily built bodies and short, pillarlike legs. Their long hair was reddish brown. The skull was similar to that of modern elephants but lower and flatter, and the ears were small. Human hunting may have played a role in the mastodon's extinction. See also mammoth.

* * *

▪ extinct mammal
 any of several extinct elephantine mammals (family Mastodontidae, genus Mastodon [also called Mammut] that first appeared in the early Miocene and continued in various forms through the Pleistocene Epoch (from 1,600,000 to 10,000 years ago). In North America, mastodons probably persisted into post-Pleistocene time and were thus contemporaneous with historic North American Indian groups. Mastodons had a worldwide distribution; their remains are quite common and are often very well preserved.

      A characteristic feature of the mastodons, which appear to have fed upon leaves, is the distinctive nature of the grinding teeth, which in many respects are relatively primitive. They are low-crowned, large, and strongly rooted, with as many as four prominent ridges separated by deep troughs; the teeth are much smaller and less complex, however, than those in the true elephants. The prominent upper tusks were long and grew parallel to each other with an upward curvature. Short lower tusks were present in males but absent in females.

 Mastodons were shorter than modern elephants but were heavily built. Although the skull was lower and flatter and of generally simpler construction than that of the modern elephants, it was similar in appearance. The ears were smaller and not as prominent as those of elephants. The body was relatively long, and the legs were short, massive, and pillarlike. Mastodons were covered with long, reddish brown hair. The reasons for their extinction are not certain, but, in North America at least, human hunting may have played a role.
 

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Mastodon — Mastodon …   Википедия

  • Mastodon — au Heineken Jammin Festival en 2007 Pays d’origine Atlanta …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Mastodon — steht für: eine ausgestorbene Gruppe von Rüsseltieren, siehe Mastodonten speziell Amerikanisches Mastodon eine US amerikanische Metal Band, siehe Mastodon (Band) Orte in den Vereinigten Staaten: Mastodon (Michigan) Mastodon (New Mexico) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Mastŏdon — (Zitzenzahn, Mastodon), Gattung der Rüsseltiere (s. d.) aus der jüngern Tertiärzeit und dem Diluvium. Vom Elefanten unterscheidet es sich durch die höckerförmigen Backenzähne (s. Tafel »Tertiärformation III«, Fig. 3); die Stoßzähne sind ähnlich,… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • mastodon — 1813, from Mod.L. genus name Mastodon (1806), coined by Fr. naturalist Georges Léopole Chrétien Frédéric Dagobert, Baron Cuvier (1769 1832) from Gk. mastos breast (see MASTO (Cf. masto )) + odon tooth (see TOOTH (Cf. tooth)); so called from the… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Mastodon — Mas to*don, n. [Gr. masto s the breast + odoy s, odo ntos, a tooth. So called from the conical projections upon its molar teeth.] (Paleon.) An extinct genus of mammals closely allied to the elephant, but having less complex molar teeth, and often …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Mastŏdon — (M. Cuv., Mastotherium, Zitzenzahn), fossile Säugethiergattung aus der Familie der Pachydermen; diese Thiere haben mehre Ähnlichkeit mit den Elephanten gehabt (Füße, Rüssel, Hauzähne), doch hatten die Backenzähne starke zitzenförmige Spitzen. Man …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Mastodon — Mastŏdon, Zitzenzahn, ausgestorbene Rüsseltiergattg. der Elefantenfamilie, vom Elefanten bes. durch die Beschaffenheit der Backzähne unterschieden, die nicht quere Schmelzfalten, sondern zitzenförmige, in Querreihen gestellte Höcker aufweisen… …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Mastodon — Mastodon, eine vorweltliche Gattung riesenhafter Säugethiere, von denen häufig, besonders in Nordamerika, Knochen u. Zähne gefunden werden, mit Rüssel u. Stoßzähnen, wie der Elephant. Das Thier scheint sich hauptsächlich von Sumpfpflanzen ernährt …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • mastodon — ► NOUN ▪ a large extinct elephant like mammal of the Miocene to Pleistocene epochs. ORIGIN from Greek mastos breast + odous tooth (with reference to nipple shaped tubercles on the crowns of its molar teeth) …   English terms dictionary

  • mastodon — [mas′tə dän΄] n. [< Fr mastodonte, coined (1806) by CUVIER Baron Georges (Léopold Chrétien Frédéric Dagobert) < Gr mastos (see MASTO ) + odont , stem of odous, TOOTH: from the nipplelike processes on its molar] any of an extinct family… …   English World dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”