Everyone knows about the dinosaur extinction but not many know about the rise of mammals that followed, such as the gomphotheres. This group of proboscideans began roaming on Earth around the end of the Eocene Epoch era, around 34 million years ago. Scientists believe that they existed as recently as 11,700 years ago.
The Old And The New
Inhabiting the grasslands, forests, and marshes, an ancient relative of the modern-day elephant existed from around 34 million years ago. Just as with modern-day elephants, the gomphotheres had trunks and tusks. However, these giants had 4 tusks rather than 2. Their tusks varied from short and firm to long and agile.
Food For A Giant
Just like the elephants that we know, the gomphothere is a herbivore. You wouldn’t expect that by looking at it right? They snacked on various grasses and vegetation within their area. Gomphotheres living in marsh areas would not be eating mainly grass, that feast was for their friends over in the grasslands. With this amazing thing called evolution, their teeth/tusks would adapt to their environment. For example, gomphotheres living in marsh areas would scoop up their food whilst the ones living in the grassy areas have to tear their food.
Living Back In The Ages
Beginning 2.4 million years ago, the Ice Age was a time when climates would change from cold to warm periods over short spaces of time. This confusing weather period is when you would have found the gomphotheres. Scientists have found that these plant-eating giants could be found on all continents except Antarctica and Australia. I wonder what they had against these 2 A’s. Maybe friendship drama. They were found mainly in Africa, Eurasia, and North America. As the Earth’s plates moved, so did the gomphotheres. They would migrate and find a new home as these events happened.
The Good and The Bad
The gomphothere is a giant mammal, but even with their tusks and size they still have enemies. Their long tusks were used for defending themselves. We can’t know for sure what their predators were but we know that they would have had to hunt in packs or be bigger and stronger. That’s a scary thought. The biggest threat that we know for sure would be the changes occurring in their habitats. These changes would in effect disturb their snacking habits and cause a domino effect, assisting in their extinction.
Unearthing Their Existence
We still don’t know about all ancient animals that may have once existed. The ones that we do know of are discovered through fossils. Gomphotheres fossils have been found all around the world, except Antarctica and Australia. Interestingly, the majority of these fossils have been found close to human societies of the time. They have been known to also appear within ancient hunting grounds. This information tells us not only that humans hunted the gomphotheres, but also that humans inhabited that area at the same time.
The End Of An Era
It is believed that, rather than a big dramatic event, they simply died out over time. It is suspected that as they moved around, their diet became more specific. Due to this, their numbers began to drop as that specific diet lessened. Evidence, so far, shows that the last gomphotheres were in Eurasia around 11,700 years ago. In comparison, 11,700 years is not very long. Modern-day elephants and gomphotheres may look very similar but in reality, they are very distant relatives.
Gomphotheres As A Species
There are 11 types of the gomphothere species. Well, there are 11 that we know of as of now. These are:
- Megabelodon
- Notiomastodon
- Blancotherium
- Sinomastodon
- Eubelodon
- Gnathabelodon
- Cuvieronius
- Haplomastodon
- Rhynchotherium
- Gomphotherium
- Stegomastodon
We know so much about these extinct animals but will never be able to see how they really look. We will only ever know what their fossils tell us. Fossils tell us stories that may never be completed.
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