5 Gomphotherium Facts You Wanted To Know

5 Gomphotherium Facts You Wanted To Know Gomphotherium is a prehistoric elephant that belonged to a family of extinct elephants. The animal is of genus Proboscidea, an order of animals including elephants and mammoths.

Although Gomphotherium is not as famous as dinosaurs, it left an intriguing story thanks to its iconic protruding jaw and tusks. To learn more about this extinct elephant ancestor, read further to find out its interesting facts.

Overall appearance When you look at constructive images of Gomphotherium, you will see that the physical appearance of this mammal is very similar to the modern elephant. Its thick legs, ears, small tail, and tusks resemble the elephant and the mammoth but without heavy fur. It had an oddly large trunk, or proboscis, which developed from the nose and upper lip. Sometimes the head part looks larger than the body because of its extended tusks and lower tusks. An average adult Gomphothere stood at 16 feet and weight about 8818 pounds.

Their habitats Gomphotheres lived around the end of the Oligocene epoch to the Pleistocene period, indicating that they had survived various catastrophic events throughout history. Scientists

discovered that this animal lived near marshes, tall grasslands, deep forests, and other swampy areas. According to their fossil remains, Gomphotheres walked across the continents from Asia to Europe and Africa. They extended their family to all Eurasia and all over the planet.

Magnificent tusks Tusks of Gomphotheres look not only beautiful but also provide several benefits to survive the wilderness. While the upper tusks bend, the lower tusks hold up like a stump bucket.

This structure makes them pick any object easily. Gomphotheres used their multipurpose tusks with enamel to dig and scrap vegetation to make their dwellings or homes near swamps.

How they feed Although Gomphotheres look scarier than elephants, scientists believe mammals were herbivores like the modern African elephant. They fed on fruits and plants by eating about 500 pounds of food at a time. However, they also turn out to be more gluttonous, spending the whole day eating.

Not completely extinct early Like the great sharks that lived through epochs, Gomphotheres also have some families that lived until the Holocene era, during the Ice Age. These findings show that this prehistoric animal adapted to various types of climate conditions and ecological changes. However, the later version of Gomphotheres didn’t have enamel on their upper tusks.

If you are interested in the evolution of Gomphotheres, visit a history museum in England, France, and Germany. Look for Gomphotherium tooth or sale online so that you can own a fossil of an iconic mammal.