Konobelodon

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Konobelodon
Temporal range: Miocene, 12–5.3  Ma
Ambelodon mandible.jpg
Mandible of Konobelodon britti on display at the State Museum of Pennsylvania
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Proboscidea
Family:† Amebelodontidae
Genus:† Konobelodon
Lambert, 1990
Species
  • K. atticus(Wagner, 1857)
  • K. britti(Lambert, 1990) (type)
  • K. robustusWang, Shi, He, Chen, and Yang, 2016 [1]
  • K. cyrenaicus (Gaziry, 1987)

Konobelodon is an extinct genus of amebelodont proboscidean from the Miocene of Africa, Eurasia and North America.

Contents

Taxonomy

Restoration of K. britti Amebelodon21.jpg
Restoration of K. britti

Konobelodon was originally coined as a subgenus of Amebelodon , [2] and was subsequently elevated to full generic rank in a 2014 re-appraisal of "Mastodon" atticus. [3] Within Amebelodontinae, Konobelodon is closely related to Platybelodon and Torynobelodon . [1] The genus Konobelodon likely originated in eastern Eurasia, with K. robustus being known from the Liushu Formation in the Gansu Province of China. [4] Under this hypothesis, it diverged via separate migrations westward into Europe and western Asia, represented by K. atticus, and eastward into North America, where the genus arrived c. 7 Ma and survived until the very end of the Miocene. [3] The species Konobelodon cyrenaicus is known from the Late Miocene of North Africa, representing the latest surviving amebelodont on the African continent. [5]

Description

As shovel-tusked amebelodonts, Konobelodon has two pairs of tusks, one growing from the upper jaw and a second from the lower. K. robustus is estimated to have had a body mass between 2,802–7,367 kilograms (6,177–16,241 lb), making it generally larger than most gomphotheres on account of its thicker limb bones. Its standing posture, however, was not likely as column-like as that of extant elephants and American brevirostrine gomphotheres. [4] The lower tusks were proportionally large, reaching 1.61 metres (5.3 ft) in length. [6]

Ecology

Konobelodon is suggested to have been a browser, based on dental microwear analysis. The upper tusks were likely used for slicing and scraping, while the lower tusks may have been used for digging. [7]

References

  1. 1 2 Wang, S.; SHI, Q.; HE, W.; Chen, S.; Yang, X. (2016). "— A new species of the tetralophodont amebelodontine Konobelodon Lambert, 1990 (Proboscidea, Mammalia) from the Late Miocene of China". Geodiversitas. 38 (1): 65–97. Bibcode:2016Geodv..38...65W. doi:10.5252/g2016n1a4. S2CID   87203029.
  2. ↑ Lambert, W. D. (1990). "Rediagnosis of the genus Amebelodon (Mammalia, Proboscidea, Gomphotheriidae) with a new subgenus and species, Amebelodon (Konobelodon) britti". Journal of Paleontology. 64 (6): 1032–1041. Bibcode:1990JPal...64.1032L. doi:10.1017/S0022336000019855. S2CID   131312289.
  3. 1 2 Konidaris, G. E.; Roussiakis, S. J.; Theodorou, G. E.; Koufos, G. D. (2014). "The Eurasian occurrence of the shovel-tusker Konobelodon (Mammalia, Proboscidea) as illuminated by its presence in the late Miocene of Pikermi (Greece)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (6): 1437–53. Bibcode:2014JVPal..34.1437K. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.873622. S2CID   84396676.
  4. 1 2 Wang, ShiQi; Shi, QinQin; He, Wen; Chen, ShanQin; Yang, XiangWen (2016-03-25). "A new species of the tetralophodont amebelodontine Konobelodon Lambert, 1990 (Proboscidea, Mammalia) from the Late Miocene of China" . Geodiversitas. 38 (1): 65–97. Bibcode:2016Geodv..38...65W. doi:10.5252/g2016n1a4. ISSN   1280-9659. S2CID   87203029.
  5. ↑ Sanders, William J. (2023-07-07). Evolution and Fossil Record of African Proboscidea (1 ed.). Boca Raton: CRC Press. pp. 161–163. doi:10.1201/b20016. ISBN   978-1-315-11891-8. S2CID   259625811.
  6. ↑ Larramendi, Asier (2023-12-10). "Estimating tusk masses in proboscideans: a comprehensive analysis and predictive model" . Historical Biology. 37: 45–58. doi:10.1080/08912963.2023.2286272. ISSN   0891-2963. S2CID   266182491.
  7. ↑ Semprebon, Gina M.; Pirlo, Jeanette; Dudek, Julia (2022-11-30). "Dietary Habits and Tusk Usage of Shovel-Tusked Gomphotheres from Florida: Evidence from Stereoscopic Wear of Molars and Upper and Lower Tusks". Biology. 11 (12): 1748. doi: 10.3390/biology11121748 . ISSN   2079-7737. PMC   9774678 . PMID   36552258.
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