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A mastodon (mastós 'breast' + odoús 'tooth') is a member of the genus Mammut (German for "mammoth"), which, strictly defined, was endemic to North America and lived from the late Miocene to the early Holocene. Mastodons belong to the order Proboscidea, the same order as elephants and mammoths (which belong to the family Elephantidae). Mammut is the type genus of the extinct family Mammutidae, which diverged from the ancestors of modern elephants at least 27-25 million years ago, during the Oligocene. M. americanum, known as an "American mastodon" or simply "mastodon," had a long and complex paleontological history spanning all the way back to 1705 when the first fossils were uncovered from Claverack, New York in the American colonies. Naturalists struggled to explain the affinities of the proboscidean because of its uniquely shaped molars, which have no modern analogues in terms of large mammals. The American mastodon caught the attention of not only European researchers but also influential Americans before and after the American Revolution. American historians of the 21st century, such as Paul Semonin and Keith Stewart Thomson, have argued that findings and displays of its fossils had helped to bolster American nationalism and contributed to a greater understanding of extinctions. It is known by many skeletons which are now typically on display in American museums, a trend first started by Charles Willson Peale in 1804. Taxonomically, M. americanum was first recognized as a distinct species by Robert Kerr in 1792 then classified to its own genus Mammut by Johann Friedrich Blumenbach in 1799, thus making it amongst the first fossil mammal genera to be erected with undisputed taxonomic authority. However, the original genus name was overshadowed by "Mastodon" in the 19th century, which was established formally by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1817. The genus became problematic as it served as a wastebasket taxon for over 20 fossil proboscidean species whose dentitions more closely resembled that of M. americanum than those of elephantids or deinotheres up to the early 20th century. After major revisions of proboscidean taxonomy, the genus Mammut today is defined as the valid genus name and includes 7 definite species, 1 of questionable affinities, and 4 other species from Eurasia that are pending reassessments to other genera. As a member of the Mammutidae, it is defined by its molars which have a zygodont morphology (where the cusps of the teeth are merged into ridges) which have remained evolutionarily conservative (little changed) throughout the evolution of the family. In comparison to its likely ancestor Zygolophodon, Mammut is evolutionarily derived with a reduction to loss of the lower tusks, shortening of the mandibular symphysis (the frontmost part of the lower jaw), and particularly long and upward curving upper tusks. As a result of its conservative evolutionary history, Mammut consistently occupied specializations to browsing on leaves, fruits, and woody plants. This allowed mastodons to niche partition with other members of Proboscidea in North America, like gomphotheres and the Columbian mammoth, who had shifted to mixed feeding or grazing by the late Neogene-Quaternary. Mammut as a result was a highly successful proboscidean that had achieved maximum diversity in the Pliocene then is known from abundant fossil evidence in the Late Pleistocene. It is thought to have had behaviors not much different from elephants and mammoths, living in herds, displaying strong degrees of sexual dimorphism, and entering phases of aggression under musth in the case of males. Archeological evidence reveals that mastodons for at least a few thousand years coexisted with Paleoindians, who were the first humans to have dispersed to North America and at least sometimes hunted them based on kill sites found in both pre-Clovis and Clovis cultural phases. Mastodons disappeared along with many other North American animals, including most of its largest animals (megafauna), as part of the Late Pleistocene extinctions around the end of the Late Pleistocene-early Holocene, the causes typically being attributed to Clovis culture hunting, severe climatic phases like the Younger Dryas, or some combination of the two. The American mastodon had its last recorded occurrence in the earliest Holocene around 11,000 years ago, which is considerably later than other North American megafauna species. Today, the American mastodon is one of the most well-known fossil species in both academic research and public perception, the result of its inclusion in American popular culture. Research history Earliest finds In a letter dating to 1713, Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon (known also as Lord Cornbury) from New York reported to the Royal Society learned society of Great Britain that in 1705, a large-sized tooth was found near the side of the Hudson River by a Dutch country-fellow and was sold to New York General Assembly member Van Bruggen for a gill of rum, and Bruggen eventually gave it to Cornbury. He then stated that he sent Johannis Abeel, a recorder of Albany, New York to dig near the original site of the tooth to find more bones. Abeel reported in a later that he went to the town of Claverack, New York where the original bones were found. American historian Paul Semonin said that the accounts written by Cornbury and Abeel match up with that written by in the July 30, 1705 entry in The Boston News-Letter. The account reported skeletal evidence of an antediluvian (or biblical) "giant" uncovered from Claverack. The femur and one of the teeth both dissolved before they could be further observed, however. Big Bone Lick In 1739, a French military expedition under the command of Charles III Le Moyne (known also as "Longueil") explored the locality of "Big Bone Lick" (located in what is now the US state of Kentucky) and gathered fossil bones and teeth there. The French naturalist Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton examined the fossil collection brought by Longueuil and compared it with specimens of extant elephants and Siberian mammoths in 1762. Daubenton said that the bones were discovered by Native Americans (probably Abenaki hunter-warriors). He came to the conclusion that the femur and tusk belonged to an elephant while the molars (or cheek teeth) came from a separate giant hippopotamus. In Shawnee tradition, the proboscideans roamed in herds and were hunted by giants, who both eventually died out. The accounts told by the Shawnee individuals in 1762 are the oldest known documented interpretations of the "Ohio" fossils, although the traditions may have had been told for generations. In 1767, Peter Collinson credited Irish trader George Croghan for having sent him and Benjamin Franklin fossil evidence of the mysterious proboscideans, using them for his studies. He concluded that the peculiar grinders (the molars) were built for herbivorous diets of branches of trees and shrubs as wel.... Discover the Wayne Osborn Pam Osborn popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Wayne Osborn Pam Osborn books.