Stegodon
Genus of extinct proboscidean / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Stegodon ("roofed tooth" from the Ancient Greek words στέγω, stégō, 'to cover', + ὀδούς, odoús, 'tooth' because of the distinctive ridges on the animal's molars) is an extinct genus of proboscidean, related to elephants. It was originally assigned to the family Elephantidae along with modern elephants but is now placed in the extinct family Stegodontidae. Like elephants, Stegodon had teeth with plate-like lophs that are different from those of more primitive proboscideans like gomphotheres and mammutids.[1] The oldest fossils of the genus are found in Late Miocene strata in Asia, likely originating from the more archaic Stegolophodon, subsequently migrating into Africa.[2] While the genus became extinct in Africa during the Pliocene, Stegodon remained widespread in South, Southeast and East Asia until the end of the Pleistocene.[3]
Stegodon | |
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Stegodon skeleton at the Gansu Provincial Museum | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Proboscidea |
Family: | †Stegodontidae |
Genus: | †Stegodon Falconer, 1847 |
Species | |
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