"Mammut" borsoni

Extinct species of mammutid proboscidean "Mammut" borsoni Late Miocene Early Pleistocene Neogene-Quaternary 9 2 *Mastodon borsoni Hays, 1834 Mastodon (Trilophodon) borsoni Zygolophodon borsoni Mammut borsoni from Milia.jpg Size comparison of a specimen from Milia, Greece, and a human Animalia Chordata Mammalia Proboscidea Mammutidae Mammut "M." borsoni "Mammut" borsoni (Hays, 1834) "Mammut" borsoni (sometimes called Borson's mastodon) is an extinct species of mammutid proboscidean known from the Late Miocene to the beginning of the Early Pleistocene of Eurasia, spanning from western Europe to Anatolia and possibly China. As a member of Mammutidae it is related to the American mastodon (Mammut americanum), though its placement in the genus Mammut is disputed. It is the last known mammutid in Eurasia, and considerably larger than the American mastodon, with the shoulder height and body mass of males suggested to exceed 4 m ft and 16 tonnes lb respectively, making it amongst the largest of all proboscideans and largest known land mammals. Its tusks, which could reach over 5 m in length, are the longest known of any animal. Taxonomy and evolution "Mammut" borsoni was first described by American naturalist Isaac Hays in 1834 as Mastodon borsoni, for a tooth discovered near Villanova d'Asti in Piedmont, Italy. It was named after professor Stefano Borson it, who had originally attributed the tooth to the species Mastodon giganteum.Hays Isaac Isaac Hays 1834 Descriptions of the Specimens of Inferior Maxillary Bones of Mastodons in the Cabinet of the American Philosophical Society, with Remarks on the Genus Tetracaulodon (Godman), &c. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 4 317–339 10.2307/1004835 1004835 Since its description it has been attributed to both the genera Zygolophodon and Mammut. The attribution of "M". borsoni to Mammut has been considered questionable, as the type species for Mammut, the American mastodon (Mammut americanum) is known from North America, and there is no clear evidence that there was a migration of Mammut from Eurasia to North America (a hypothesis historically favoured by some authors such as Günther SchlesingerSchlesinger, G. 1922. Die Mastodonten der Budapester Sammlungen. Geologica Hungarica, 2(2):1-284. and Heinz Tobien,Tobien, H. 1977. Migrations and non-migrations of proboscideans (Mammalia) via Bering Strait land bridge in the late Cenozoic. Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India, 20:237-243.Tobien, H. 1996. Evolution of zygodons with emphasis on dentition, p. 76-85. In Shoshani, J. and Tassy, P. (eds.), The Proboscidea: Evolution and Palaeoecology of Elephants and Their Relatives. Oxford University Press, Oxford. and still favoured by some modern authorsZhang Xiao-Xiao Kuang Xue-Wen Gong Jian-Yu Zhang Yun-Xia Wang Hui-Fang Li Dan Li Yu Wang Shi-Qi 7 April 2026 New Mammutidae material from Yushe Basin (southeastern Shanxi, China) and their implications for Mammut evolution https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1871174X26000466 Palaeoworld en 201111 10.1016/j.palwor.2026.201111 subscription ) or vice versa after the initial dispersal of Zygolophodon from Eurasia to North America c. 16 million years ago, with the generally accepted (though not universally so) view being that the similarities between North American Mammut and "M." borsoni are due to separate parallel evolution from Zygolophodon in Eurasia and North America, and that the lineages that gave rise to "M." borsoni and the American mastodons had been separate since the Early Miocene, which would render Mammut polyphyletic if it included "M." borsoni. Due to uncertainty about where the species should be placed, the species continues to be provisionally named "Mammut" borsoni.Koenigswald Wighart Březina Jakub Werneburg Ralf Göhlich Ursula 2022 A partial skeleton of "Mammut" borsoni (Proboscidea, Mammalia) from the Pliocene of Kaltensundheim (Germany) https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2022/3573-mammut-kaltensundheim Palaeontologia Electronica 10.26879/1188 247374131 free It has been suggested that "M." borsoni derives from the lineage of Zygolophodon turicensis.Mazo A.V. Van der Made J. March 2012 Iberian mastodonts: Geographic and stratigraphic distribution https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1040618211004472 Quaternary International 255 239–256 2012QuInt.255..239M 10.1016/j.quaint.2011.07.047 subscription Some authors choose to segregate some late Miocene fossils into the species "Mammut" obliquelophus, which has molars essentially identical to the Pliocene "Mammut" borsoni; however, the mandibular symphysis (the fused front-most part) of the lower jaw is somewhat more elongated with larger lower tusks, and the upper tusks are probably shorter.https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-3046011/v1 First true mastodon from the Late Miocene of Western Asia Yaghoubi Sadaf Ashouri Ali Reza 2023-07-05 Swiss Journal of Palaeontology (In Review) 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3046011/v1 Ataabadi Majid Mirzaie Ghaderi Abbas free Description thumb|Size comparison of specimens of "Mammut" borsoni (top and bottom left), and a specimen of the American mastodon (Mammut americanum, bottom right), to 1.8 m tall human figures|275x275px Like many other proboscideans including living elephants, the species is suggested to have been sexually dimorphic, with considerably larger males than females. "Mammut" borsoni is the largest known mammutid, considerably exceeding the American mastodon in size. A 2015 study estimated that some not fully grown, likely male individuals known from partial skeletons found in the vicinity of the village of Milia in northern Greece (Milia I and Milia V) weighed about 14 tonne lb with a shoulder height of 3.9 m ft 1, with one specimen from the same locality known from an isolated femur (Milia II) estimated to weigh 16 tonne lb with a shoulder height of 4.1 m ft 1; the latter is also estimated to have been the average size of males of the species. Both of these weight estimates are significantly larger than those of any known modern elephant, placing it among the largest land mammals to have ever lived, rivalling Paraceratherium transouralicum in size. A fully grown specimen, suggested to be female due to its size, known from a partial skeleton excavated from a sinkhole near the village of Kaltensundheim, in Thuringia, central Germany in 1958 had a shoulder height of 3.2 m ft 1 and an estimated body mass of 7.8 tonne lb. thumb|Excavation sketches of two "Mammut" borsoni specimens from Kaltensundheim. A: a 3.2 metre tall probable female excavated in 1958, with gold showing bones whose whereabouts are known. B: An undescribed specimen excavated in 1976-78 The upper tusks lack enamel bands (which are present in the tusks of Zygolophodon turicensis), are straight to slightly upwardly curved, and the longest known amongst proboscideans, with one preserved tusk from a probably male specimen from Milia measuring 5.02 m ft in length,Mol Dick Dick Mol van Logchem Wilrie 2009 The mastodon of Milia: the longest tusks in the world Deposits 19 28–32 https://depositsmag.com/2024/01/06/the-mastodon-of-milia-the-longest-tusks-in-the-world/Larramendi A. 2016 Shoulder height, body mass and shape of proboscideans https://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app61/app001362014.pdf Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 61 3 537 10.4202/app.00136.2014 2016AcPaP..61..537L free with an estimated mass in life of around 137 kg.Larramendi Asier 2023-12-10 Estimating tusk masses in proboscideans: a comprehensive analysis and predictive model https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2023.2286272 Historical Biology 37 45–58 10.1080/08912963.2023.2286272 0891-2963 subscription Females are suggested to have probably had smaller tusks than males, similar to modern elephants. In comparison to earlier mammutids like Zygolophodon, the lower jaw, particularly the front-most part, the mandibular symphysis, is relatively short, but at least in some individuals still bears small lower tusks (around 5 cm in diameter and 15 cm in length in the Kaltensundheim specimen), though some "M. " borsoni individuals appear to have had tuskless lower jaws. The jaws appear to have lacked permanent premolar teeth, which are present in more primitive mammutids.Sanders William J. William J. Sanders 2018-02-17 Horizontal tooth displacement and premolar occurrence in elephants and other elephantiform proboscideans https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2017.1297436 Historical Biology 30 1–2 137–156 2018HBio...30..137S 10.1080/08912963.2017.1297436 0891-2963 subscription thumb|Front foot of the Kaltensundheim specimen (A, left), and a comparison of the forelimb structure of "Mammut" borsoni (C), with Zygolophodon turicensis (B) and the American mastodon Mammut americanum (D) The anatomy of the ulna, radius, femur, and foot bones of "Mammut" borsoni are more morphologically similar to those of the American mastodon (Mammut americanum) than to Zygolophodon turicensis, though the converse is true for the humerus and tibia, with the morphology of the limb bones being more gracile/less robust than those of the American mastodon.Bader Camille Delapré Arnaud Göhlich Ursula B. Houssaye Alexandra November 2024 Diversity of limb long bone morphology among proboscideans: how to be the biggest one in the family Papers in Palaeontology en 10 6 e1597 10.1002/spp2.1597 2056-2799 free 2024PPal...10E1597B The humerus has a distinctly convex outline in medial view (when viewed from the inner side respective to life position), with the shaft being triangular shaped in cross section. The olecranon process of the ulna where it articulates with the elbow is very robust and projects out to the side (laterally). The intercondylar fossa of the femur is narrower in "M." borsoni than in the American mastodon and more similar to Z. turicensis. The condylus medialis of the tibia where connects to the knee joint with the femur is large. The fibula shaft is relatively thin. A braincase of the species known from Moldova, which shows that the shape of the endocast (the internal hollow space occupied by the brain) differs somewhat from its counterpart in the American mastodon, with the location of the temporal lobe being prominently developed, and the location of the front tips of the olfactory bulbs being clearly visible, while the tips of the olfactory bulbs are less prominent and often not visible in American mastodon endocasts. Like other mammutids, the encephalization quotient is lower than for modern elephants, indicating a proportionally smaller brain relative to body mass,Benoit Julien Paleoneurology of the Proboscidea (Mammalia, Afrotheria): Insights from Their Brain Endocast and Labyrinth 2023 Paleoneurology of Amniotes 579–644 Dozo María Teresa https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-031-13983-3_15 2025-06-16 Cham Springer International Publishing en 10.1007/978-3-031-13983-3_15 978-3-031-13982-6 Lyras George A. Schmitt Arnaud Nxumalo Mpilo Tabuce Rodolphe Obada Teodor Mararsecul Vladislav Manger Paul Paulina-Carabajal Ariana Macrini Thomas E. Walsh Stig with the brain of the Moldovan specimen estimated to have weighed approximately 4.7 kg.Benoit Julien Legendre Lucas J. Tabuce Rodolphe Obada Theodor Mararescul Vladislav Manger Paul 2019-06-27 Brain evolution in Proboscidea (Mammalia, Afrotheria) across the Cenozoic Scientific Reports en 9 1 9323 10.1038/s41598-019-45888-4 free 2045-2322 6597534 31249366 2019NatSR...9.9323B Xavliodontes.jpg Tusks of "M." borsoni from Milia, Greece, which are the longest tusks ever found File:Mammut borsoni molar 873.jpg Molar tooth "Mammut" borsoni mandible.png Tusked lower jaw of the Kaltensundheim specimen of "M." borsoni in an archive historical photo with real tusks (left) and a modern photo of the partially restored jaw with replica lower tusks (right) 250 180 center Archives du Mus©um d'histoire naturelle de Lyon (1878) (20138467470).jpg Lithograph of a partial lower jaw of "Mammut" borsoni, alongside other miscellaneous mammal remains Ecology thumb|Individuals of "Mammut" borsoni (background upper right) in a Pliocene temperate forested Central European landscape, alongside the fellow proboscidean Anancus arvernensis (upper left), rhinoceros Stephanorhinus etruscus, the pig Sus minor and the bovine Leptobos stenometopon, alongside pikas, ptarmigans and grouse.|350x350px Dental microwear and mesowear analysis of specimens from the Pliocene of Romania and England (Red Crag), respectively, as well as isotopic analysis of specimens from Milia, suggest that "M". borsoni was primarily a browser on leaves and twigs of woody plants.Haiduc Bogdan S. Răţoi Bogdan G. Semprebon Gina M. February 2018 Dietary reconstruction of Plio-Pleistocene proboscideans from the Carpathian Basin of Romania using enamel microwear https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1040618217315148 Quaternary International 467 222–229 10.1016/j.quaint.2018.01.039 2018QuInt.467..222H subscription Saarinen Juha Lister Adrian M. October 2016 Dental mesowear reflects local vegetation and niche separation in Pleistocene proboscideans from Britain: DENTAL MESOWEAR IN PLEISTOCENE PROBOSCIDEANS https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jqs.2906 Journal of Quaternary Science 31 7 799–808 10.1002/jqs.2906 subscription Dotsika, E.; Tsoukala, E.; Chantzi, P.; Karalis, P.; Heliadis, E. Palaeoenviromental information from isotopic fingerprints of the Early Villafranchian Mammut borsoni from Milia (Grevena, Macedonia, Greece). In VIth International Conference on Mammoths and Their Relatives; Kostopoulos, D.S., Vlachos, E., Tsoukala, E., Eds.; Scientific Annals, School of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece: Grevena-Siatista, Greece, 2014; Special Volume 102, p. 10.Tsakalidis Christos Konidaris George E. Tsoukala Evangelia Kostopoulos Dimitris S. 2025-04-11 Dietary Reconstruction of Pliocene–Pleistocene Mammoths and Elephants (Proboscidea) from Northern Greece Based on Dental Mesowear Analysis Quaternary en 8 2 19 10.3390/quat8020019 2025Quat....8...19T free 2571-550X In Pliocene Europe, it coexisted with other proboscidean species, including the mammoth Mammuthus rumanus and the "tetralophodont gomphothere" Anancus arvernensis, which also had browsing-based diets. Other animals that lived alongside "Mammut" borsoni in the late Pliocene of Europe include the tapir Tapirus arvernensis, the monkey Mesopithecus monspessulanus, the bovine Leptobos stenometopon, the pig Sus minor, the deer Pseudodama lyra, the rhinoceros Stephanorhinus elatus, the sabertooth cat Homotherium crenatidens, the hyenas Pliocrocuta perrieri and Chasmaporthetes lunensis, and the giant cheetah Acinonyx pardinensis.Rook Lorenzo Martínez-Navarro Bienvenido June 2010 Villafranchian: The long story of a Plio-Pleistocene European large mammal biochronologic unit https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1040618210000170 Quaternary International 219 1–2 134–144 10.1016/j.quaint.2010.01.007 2010QuInt.219..134R subscription Distribution and chronology "Mammut" borsoni is known from localities across Europe, spanning from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to Greece and Ukraine in the east. Remains have also been reported from Anatolia (Asian Turkey)Albayrak Ebru Antoine Pierre-Olivier Cörekçioğlu Erdem 2025-10-31 TUFANBEYLİ: NEW LOWER PLIOCENE MAMMAL-YIELDING LOCALITY AND FIRST RECORD OF "MAMMUT" BORSONI FROM TURKEY Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia 131 3 2874 10.54103/2039-4942/28746 ((2025RIPS..131.28746)) 2039-4942 free and Shanxi in northern China,Zhang Xiaoxiao Wang Shiqi 2021-09-02 First report of Eozygodon (Mammutidae, Proboscidea) in Eurasia https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2020.1723579 Historical Biology 33 9 1661–1670 10.1080/08912963.2020.1723579 2021HBio...33.1661Z 213467027 0891-2963 subscription though it has been argued by some authors that the Chinese remains should be assigned to the separate species M. shansiense. The oldest specimens of the "Mammut" borsoni lineage sensu lato (including remains assigned to "Mammut" obliquelophus) date to the late Miocene (around 9-7 million years ago), while the youngest date to the earliest Pleistocene, around 2-2.5 million years ago (Mammal Neogene zone 17). References External links The mastodon of Milia: The longest tusks in the world article in Deposits Magazine recounting the excavation of the "Mammut" borsoni specimens from Milia Q107443761 Category:Mammutidae Category:Mastodons Category:Extinct animals of Germany Category:Extinct animals of Greece Category:Articles with quotation marks in the title