Aphanobelodon Explained

Aphanobelodon is an extinct genus of proboscidean in the family Amebelodontidae.[1]

Taxonomy

The holotype is the complete cranium of an adult female, and the paratypes include the remains of another adult female, an adult male, four subadults, and three calves. It is one of the few proboscidean species that lacks upper tusks, a trait previously thought to be unique to deinotheres.

The generic name comes from aphano, meaning invisible, and belodon, meaning front tooth. The specific name of the type species is after Rong Zhao, who discovered and excavated the specimens.

Notes and References

  1. Wang . Shi-Qi . Deng . Tao . Ye . Jie . He . Wen . Chen . Shan-Qin . 10 August 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 .