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Gomphotherium Temporal range: Early Miocene–Early Pliocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Specimen of Gomphotherium productum at the American Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Proboscidea
Family:	†Gomphotheriidae
Genus:	†Gomphotherium Burmeister, 1837
Type species
Gomphotherium angustidens (Cuvier, 1817)
Species
See text
Synonyms
Trilophodon Falconer and Cautley, 1846 Bunolophodon Vacek, 1877 Tetrabelodon Cope, 1884 Serridentinus Osborn, 1923 Trobelodon Frick, 1933 Ocalientinus Frick, 1933 Tatabelodon Frick, 1933

Gomphotherium (/ˌɡɒmfəˈθɪəriəm/; "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. It is the most diverse genus of gompothere, with over a dozen valid species. The genus is probably paraphyletic.

Description

Most species of Gomphotherium were similar in size to the Asian elephant, with G. productum (known from a 35-year-old male) measuring 2.51 m (8 ft 3 in) tall and weighing 4.6 t (4.5 long tons; 5.1 short tons). The largest species G. steinheimense, known from a complete 37-year-old male found in Mühldorf, Germany, measured up to 3.17 m (10.4 ft) tall and weighed 6.7 t (6.6 long tons; 7.4 short tons).

Gomphotherium, like most basal elephantimorphs, had an elongated lower jaw which bore tusks. 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)".

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. 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.

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. Gomphotherium migrated into Eurasia across the "Gomphotherium land bridge" approximately 19 million years ago. Gomphotherium underwent rapid evolution after its arrival in Eurasia, reaching its peak diversity during the Early-Middle Miocene. 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. Gomphotherium first arrived in North America during the mid-Miocene, approximately 16-15 million years ago, and is suggested to be ancestral to later New World gomphothere genera, such as Cuvieronius, Stegomastodon and Rhynchotherium. Asian populations of Gomphotherium are suggested to have been ancestral to Sinomastodon. 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. The last Gomphotherium species disappeared from North America at the beginning of the Pliocene, approximately 5 million years ago.

Taxonomy

Species

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

• 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

Phylogeny after Wang et al., 2017

Cladogram of Elephantiformes after Li et al. 2023, showing a paraphyletic Gomphotheriidae and Gomphotherium.

• Gomphotherium angustidens
• Gomphotherium productum
• G. angustidens by Charles R. Knight
• G. angustidens skeleton
• Ontogeny

References

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2. Palmer, T. S.; Merriam, C. H. (1904). Index generum mammalium: a list of the genera and families of mammals. Government Printing Office, Washington.
3. ^ Wu, Yan; Deng, Tao; Hu, Yaowu; Ma, Jiao; Zhou, Xinying; Mao, Limi; Zhang, Hanwen; Ye, Jie; Wang, Shi-Qi (16 May 2018). "A grazing Gomphotherium in Middle Miocene Central Asia, 10 million years prior to the origin of the Elephantidae". Scientific Reports. 8 (1): 7640. Bibcode:2018NatSR...8.7640W. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-25909-4. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 5956065. PMID 29769581.
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6. Mothé, Dimila; Ferretti, Marco P.; Avilla, Leonardo S. (12 January 2016). Beatty, Brian Lee (ed.). "The Dance of Tusks: Rediscovery of Lower Incisors in the Pan-American Proboscidean Cuvieronius hyodon Revises Incisor Evolution in Elephantimorpha". PLOS ONE. 11 (1): e0147009. Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1147009M. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0147009. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 4710528. PMID 26756209.
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8. Fox, David L.; Fisher, Daniel C. (1 June 2001). "Stable Isotope Ecology of a Late Miocene Population of Gomphotherium productus (Mammalia, Proboscidea) from Port of Entry Pit, Oklahoma, USA". PALAIOS. 16 (3): 279–293. Bibcode:2001Palai..16..279F. doi:10.1669/0883-1351(2001)016<0279:SIEOAL>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0883-1351. Retrieved 2 July 2024 – via BioOne.
9. Wang, Shi-Qi; Li, Yu; Duangkrayom, Jaroon; Yang, Xiang-Wen; He, Wen; Chen, Shan-Qin (4 May 2017). "A new species of Gomphotherium (Proboscidea, Mammalia) from China and the evolution of Gomphotherium in Eurasia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 37 (3): e1318284. Bibcode:2017JVPal..37E8284W. doi:10.1080/02724634.2017.1318284. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 90593535.
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v t e Genera of the order Proboscidea
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Superorder: Afrotheria Clade: Tethytheria
Proboscidea †Arcanotherium †Daouitherium †Eritherium †Khamsaconus? †Moeritherium †Numidotherium †Phosphatherium †Saloumia †Barytheriidae Barytherium Omanitherium †Deinotheriidae Chilgatherium Deinotherium Prodeinotherium Elephantiformes †Dagbatitherium †Eritreum †Hemimastodon †Palaeomastodon †Phiomia †Mammutidae Eozygodon Losodokodon Mammut Sinomammut Zygolophodon †Choerolophodontidae Afrochoerodon Choerolophodon †Amebelodontidae Afromastodon Amebelodon Aphanobelodon Archaeobelodon Eurybelodon Konobelodon Platybelodon Progomphotherium Protanancus Serbelodon Stenobelodon Torynobelodon †"Trilophodont gomphotheres" Blancotherium Cuvieronius Eubelodon Gnathabelodon Gomphotherium Notiomastodon Rhynchotherium Sinomastodon Stegomastodon †"Tetralophodont gomphotheres" Anancus Paratetralophodon Pediolophodon Tetralophodon †Stegodontidae Stegodon Stegolophodon Elephantidae Elephas Loxodonta †Mammuthus †Palaeoloxodon †Primelephas †Selenetherium †Stegodibelodon †Stegotetrabelodon †Phanagoroloxodon
See also: Plesielephantiformes Numidotheriidae Elephantimorpha Elephantida Elephantoidea

• Miocene mammals of Africa
• Miocene mammals of Europe
• Gomphotheres
• Miocene proboscideans
• Pliocene proboscideans
• Zanclean extinctions
• Miocene mammals of North America
• White River Fauna
• Prehistoric placental genera
• Fossil taxa described in 1837
• Miocene mammals of Asia
• Pliocene mammals of North America