Mammut pacificussp. nov., a newly recognized species of mastodon from the Pleistocene of western North America

2019/03/27 by Alton C. Dooley, Eric Scott, Jeremy Green +3 · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Social Sciences · #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research #Pleistocene #Geography #Ecology #Archaeology #Zoology #Biology

paper · doi:10.7717/peerj.6614

openalex publication_date 2019/03/27 · openalex created_date 2019/04/01 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11

Abstract

A new species of mastodon from the Pleistocene of western North America, Mammut pacificus sp. nov. is herein recognized, with specimens identified throughout California and from two localities in southern Idaho. This new taxon differs from the contemporaneous M. americanum in having narrower teeth, most prominently in M3/m3, as well as six sacral vertebrae, femur with a proportionally greater mid-shaft diameter, and no mandibular tusks at any growth stage. All known Pleistocene Mammut remains from California are consistent with our diagnosis of M. pacificus , which indicates that M. americanum was not present in California.

Citations

• Complete Columbian mammoth mitogenome suggests interbreeding with woolly mammoths
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Cited by

• Paleobiota of the La Brea Tar Pits [wikipedia]

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