The mastodon was a massive browser that roamed North America for millions of years.

Nature · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Long before modern elephants dominated the landscape, the Mammutidae family thrived across Africa, Eurasia, and North America. Known for their distinct nipple-shaped teeth and robust frames, these ancient proboscideans lived in complex social groups, communicated through infrasonic calls, and included some of the largest land mammals to ever exist.

The Mammutidae family represents the most basal group within the Elephantimorpha. Their evolutionary journey began in Africa during the Late Oligocene, with the genus Losodokodon appearing roughly 27.5 to 24 million years ago. Over millions of years, these creatures migrated across continents, reaching Eurasia via the Gomphotherium land bridge around 18 million years ago and eventually entering North America approximately 16.5 million years ago. While they shared horizontal tooth replacement with modern elephants, their anatomy was distinct; they possessed more robust, massive limb bones and proportionally longer bodies.

Physically, mammutids underwent significant changes over time. Early members like Eozygodon featured elongated lower jaws with tusks, whereas later representatives such as Mammut evolved shorter jaws and lost their lower tusks entirely. Their upper tusks also evolved from small, downward-curving structures into the massive, upward-curving tusks seen in the American mastodon, which could reach lengths of 3 metres. The species Mammut borsoni stands out as a titan of the group, with males weighing an estimated 16 tonnes and sporting tusks exceeding 5 metres in length, making them among the largest land mammals in history.

Ecologically, mammutids were primarily browsers, feeding on the foliage and twigs of trees and shrubs. Their jaws were specialized for powerful vertical biting, a mechanism suited for crushing rather than the side-to-side grinding seen in other herbivores. Evidence suggests they mirrored the social structures of modern elephants, with females and juveniles living in herds while males remained solitary or formed small bachelor groups. They likely engaged in musth-like combat and utilized infrasonic communication, a capability supported by the morphology of their hyoid bones and inner ear structures. Their long reign ended at the start of the Holocene, approximately 11,000 years ago.

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