Mastodons

What is a mastodon?
Mastodons were an elephant-like mammal that lived during the Ice Age. This species is the American mastodon (Mammut americanum). Mastodons are related to mammoths and modern elephants. They are all members of a group of mammals known as the Proboscideans

How big was the American mastodon?
Adult mastodons stood 8-10 feet tall at the shoulder and weighed between 4-6 tons. The Rustler Ranch mastodon appears to have been at the large end of the size range.

What was the difference between a mastodon and a mammoth?
Mammoths had teeth with hard ridges for grinding dry vegetation and grazed in open grasslands. Some reached sixteen feet in height and had enormous curved tusks. Mastodons had blunt coned teeth and probably were browsers on softer plants, such as herbs and leaves. They were found mostly in forested and brushy areas.

When did mastodons live?
The American mastodon roamed much of North America during the Pliocene and Pleistocene Epochs from at least 3.75 million to 10,000 years ago. This time was known as the Ice Age, during which a series of huge glaciers covered portions of the North American Continent.

Why did they become extinct?
The last mastodon lived about 10,000 years ago. The reason they died out is not completely understood. The changing climate at the close of the Ice Age is thought to have played an important part. Over-hunting by humans or disease may also have contributed to their extinction.