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Mastodons are members of an
extinct genus of the order
Proboscidea, and were herbivores who resembled modern
elephants. The American mastodon (
Mammut americanum) lived in
North America beginning almost four million years ago, becoming extinct approximately 10,000 years ago. They were furry, and had a height of about three meters. They differed from
mammoths mainly in the structure of their teeth, which were more suited to chewing leaves rather than for grazing. The name mastodon (or
mastodont) comes from their tooth structure (
Greek μαστός and ὀδούς, "nipple tooth"), and is also an obsolete name for their genus.
Their tusks sometimes exceeded five meters in length. Their meat was a food source for early humans, and archeologists are still trying to determine what role, if any, the early human settlers of North America played in the extinction of the mastodon.
