Phylum Chordata Order Proboscidea | ||
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Family †AmebelodontidaeBarbour, 1927 Similar Proboscidea, Mammal, Protanancus, Archaeobelodon, Amebelodon | ||
Amebelodontidae is an extinct family of large herbivorous mammals that were closely related to elephants. They were assigned to Gomphotheriidae in the past, but recent authors consider them a distinct family.
Feeding habits
Amebelodonts' feeding habits are portrayed as scooping up water plants due to their mandibular tusks which have a shovel-like shape. However, this is a misconception because the upper tusks are never taken into consideration. The wear pattern on the mandibular tusks of Platybelodon grangeri and P. barnumbrowni indicate that these taxa used their tusks to cut through vegetation in a specialized way.
References
Amebelodontidae Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA