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Description: | Specimen of a fossil mammal (tooth), a Mastodon, Mammut angustidens, collected from unspecified rocks of Tertiary, Miocene age from South Carolina, U.S.A.. Collected by R. Blair, 1888.
Mastodons are a group of mammals that had the same ancestors as elephants and mammoths. They were found all over the Northern Hemisphere and Africa until they became extinct about 2 million years ago. Climate changes destroyed their forest habitat and the plants they ate, causing them to die out. Their name comes from the shape of their teeth and means 'nipple-toothed'. The tooth shape shows that Mastodons fed on the leaves and branches of trees and shrubs.
The specimen was found in USA.
It is from the Tertiary period (65 - 1.8 million years ago) | Publisher: | Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums | Subjects: | Blair Classification: Chordata R. Mammalia | Temporal: | Tertiary period (65 - 1.8 million years ago) | Source: | Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums | Identifier: | http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/geofinder/se... | Go to resource |
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