A century ago, two large American mastodon Mammut americanum specimens from coastal South Carolina were mounted for display at Amherst College. Their robust build, broad and pentalophodont third molars, and well-developed mandibular tusks were noted as unusual. Here, these specimens are redescribed; three additional mastodon mandibles from the same region of South Carolina are also described. Though collection information on these specimens is sparse, they appear to span >150 ka in the Middle to Late Pleistocene, and probably include the first report of Mammut from the earliest-Rancholabrean Ten Mile Hill Formation. Some “unusual” features — moderately to extremely broad third molars, longitudinally-wrinkled enamel, very robust mandibles, large mandibular tusks — are present in most or all specimens, and may characterize regional mastodons. Description of these mastodons provides a useful starting point for more-thorough evaluation of the species in the Southeastern United States.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:etd-5212 |
| Date | 01 May 2020 |
| Creators | Inabinett, Matthew |
| Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
| Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | Copyright by the author. |
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