Eurybelodon Explained

Eurybelodon is an extinct genus of proboscidean in the family Amebelodontidae. It lived in the Clarendonian age of the Miocene.^[1]

Etymology

The genus name comes from the Greek eury, which means broad, and belodon, meaning front tooth. The specific name of the type species is dedicated to Jeheskel Shoshani, who made significant contributions to proboscidean research.^[1]

Taxonomy

The type specimen, a partial upper tusk, was described from Black Butte in western Oregon in 1963. It was originally assigned to the genus Platybelodon, but was reclassified as a distinct genus after a 2016 analysis revealed key morphological differences between it and other amebelodontids.^[1] Though it was originally classified in the family Gomphotheriidae with Platybelodon and Amebelodon, it was moved when the subfamily Amebelodontinae was elevated to a distinct family.^{[2] [3]}

Notes and References

1. Lambert . W. . 18 February 2016 . Eurybelodon shoshanii, an unusual new shovel-tusked gomphothere (Mammalia, Proboscidea) from the late Miocene of Oregon. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 36 . 3 . e1091352 . 10.1080/02724634.2016.1091352. 2016JVPal..36E1352L . 131649785 .
2. Wang . Shi-Qi . Deng . Tao . Ye . Jie . He . Wen . Chen . Shan-Qin . 5 January 2016 . Morphological and ecological diversity of Amebelodontidae (Proboscidea, Mammalia) revealed by a Miocene fossil accumulation of an upper-tuskless proboscidean . Journal of Systematic Palaeontology . 15 . 8 . Online . 10.1080/14772019.2016.1208687 . 601–615. 89063787 .
3. Mothé. D . Ferretti. MP. Avilla. LS. 12 January 2016. The Dance of Tusks: Rediscovery of Lower Incisors in the Pan-American Proboscidean Cuvieronius hyodon Revises Incisor Evolution in Elephantimorpha. PLOS ONE . 10.1371/journal.pone.0147009. 4710528 . 26756209 . 11 . 1 . e0147009. 2016PLoSO..1147009M . free .