Eozygodon is an extinct genus of proboscidean in the family Mammutidae that is based on a single species, E. morotoensis, named in 1983.[1] It is known from the Early Miocene of Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Namibia)[2] and well as possibly the Middle Miocene of China.[3] It is considered a primitive member of the family, retaining a long lower jaw (longirostrine) with lower tusks.[3][4] The upper tusks are small, and are parallel to each other. The skull of the young adult (around 24-26 years old in African elephant tooth wear equivalent years) AM 02 from Auchas, Namibia, was around the size of that of a 10 year old American mastodon,[5] around 60 centimetres (2.0 ft) in maximum length.[6] Dental mesowear from East African specimens suggests a browsing diet.[7] Some authors suggest that Eozygodon could be less closely related to other members of Mammutidae than other mammutids are to Elephantida, making Mammutidae as typically defined paraphyletic.[5]
^Tassy, P. and Pickford, M. (1983). Un nouveau mastodonte zygolophodonte (Proboscidea, Mammalia) dans le Miocène Inférieur d'Afrique orientale: Systématique et paléoenvironnement. Géobios 16: 53-77.
^William J. Sanders; Emmanuel Gheerbrant; John M. Harris; Haruo Saegusa; Cyrille Delmer (2010). "Proboscidea". In Werdelin, Lars; Sanders, William Joseph (eds.). Cenozoic Mammals of Africa. University of California Press. pp. 186–. ISBN978-0-520-25721-4.
