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Description
Cuvieronius hyodon
Proboscideans had thrived throughout the Cenozoic and by the Pleistocene, the most derived clade, Elephantimorpha had reached their apex in terms of diversity. Today only 3 species persist to the modern age. However, wind the clocks back some 100,000 years ago, more than 30 species walked the planet. From Woolly Mammoths of the mammoth steppe, Columbian Mammoths of the Great Plains of America, American Mastodon browsing in the forests, Stegodon across Eurasia and colonizing regions such as Java and Japan, and their cousins, Palaeoloxodon right alongside them inhabiting the mainland of Eurasia and several dwarf/pygmy species on the islands of the Mediterranean. However, one group does not get discussed enough is the basal group, the Gompotheres. These animals had persisted for more than 20,000,000 years. Evolving in Africa, spreading into Eurasia, the Middle East and ultimately to America, and primarily were browsing animals. Some had appearances similar to modern elephants, others had four tusks or even some looking like shovel-tusks like the more basal Amebelodonts. By the dawn of the Pleistocene, they had largely been outcompeted by more derived forms of Elephants. Their last bastion was in South America, and the last species was the spiral tusked Cuvieronius hyodon.
History of Discovery:
In 1805, German Paleontologist Alexander von Humboldt was prospecting for fossils in Ecuador. With the help of the local population, he was referred to an area that the native peoples called, “The Field of Giants”. Inquiring about the name, both the natives and even the Spanish Colonials gave the name to this field because in their view, the bones were of giant humans and this field was once their home. Upon excavation of the site, he found what appeared to be molars. But these teeth did not belong to any human, they appeared to be similar to Mastodon teeth. The following year, he sent the teeth to his contemporary anatomist Georges Cuvier where he informally described them for many years. It wasn’t until 1826 Cuvier formally described two species of Mastodon: “Mastodon andium and Mastodon humbodlti”. The names in reference to the foothills of the Andes and von Humboldt.
What neither mend didn’t know is that Gotthelf Fischer had described the animals using the same teeth in 1814 and called them “Mastotherium hyodon”. The generic name meaning “Breast Beast” whereas the specific name meaning “high arch tooth”. Generally, these animals were described as a species of mastodon for decades as it was used as a wastebasket taxon for many basal or browsing forms of elephants. It wasn’t until 1923 when Henry Fairfield Osborn described them properly. Because of the laws that govern binomial nomenclature, since Fischer had described the teeth formally first, the name he gave was Cuvieronius hyodon. Literally meaning, “Cuvier’s High Arch Tooth”.
Evolution:
Cuvieronius’ oldest fossils are from Nevada, some 4,600,000 years ago during the Late Pliocene. Paleontologists believe they evolved from the more basal gomphothere Rhynchotherium. They were successful throughout the latter half of the era, but, by around 1,400,000-1,300,000 years ago in the mid-Pleistocene, they were outcompeted by the arrival of mammoths and mastodons throughout much of North America. However, while one door closed for them in the north, another opened in the south. With the Isthmus of Panama connecting the two continents some 1,800,000 years ago, Cuvieronius and its cousin Notiomastodon were able to migrate into South America and took up the niche of megafaunal herbivore down South.
Description:
Outwardly, Cuvieronius resembled elephants. However, there were marked differences between them. The general build of these animals meant they looked longer in terms of length proportionally. They were also lithe compared to other mainland species of elephantimorphs weighing only around 2.8-3.9 tons depending on the sex. Weighing less than most subspecies of Asian elephants. They had a more elongated, flattened and a more gradually down turned forehead, lacking the single or dual domed skull that belonged to more derived groups of elephants. The molars had more breast-shaped protrusions like their distant cousins, the mastodons. The tusks were fairly long, around 4-6.5ft and while straight, they also spiraled throughout the length of the tusk. As with all elephantimorphs, the males were larger and had longer tusks compared to females.
Behavior:
These gomphotheres are generally believed to have had similar behaviors to modern elephants. An old matriarch would lead the herd and have her young follow her, and they in turn would be with their young. The males would live alone or in bachelor groups and only come to females to mate. In the fossil record, Cuvieronius specimens have been found together and this lends credence to the idea that the behavior of these animals was reminiscent of modern elephants.
Habitat and Dietary Implications:
By the Pleistocene, habitat of these animals was wide-ranging, from as far north as central Texas, to as far south as Chile. More commonly, they have been found near more mountainous areas like Oaxaca, Mexico. Largely it would have varied from a scrubby woodland environment with some savannah regions as well. Largely similar to parts of Paraguay today.
The bulk of the fossils however, have been found in South America. Specifically, in higher environments close to the Andes mountains. Paleontologists think these animals primarily subsisted in more scrubby and woodland environments compared to their contemporary cousins, Notiomastodon. This suggests that these two species of elephant were niche partitioned. Based on the morphology of their teeth, this makes sense, Cuvieronius retained the more browsing-oriented teeth with breast-shaped designed to be used in tandem with powerful jaws to process branches similar to more basal gomphothere. Notiomastodon, despite its name had more flattened teeth resembling African Bush Elephants. This suggests that they were more oriented to being generalist herbivores in lowland areas, browsing off trees and grazing from grasses. Whereas Cuvieronius which fed almost exclusively from trees in more elevated environments.
Extinction and POSSIBLE late survival:
As with many elephantimorphs, these magnificent beasts died out at the end of the Pleistocene some 10-11,000 years ago. The cause of the extinction is not conclusive but, they likely died out due to overhunting and climate change during the dawn of the Holocene.
At a fossil site in Sonora, Mexico dated to around 12,000 years ago, shows evidence of a mass death site committed by Clovis Paleoindians with spearpoints found alongside them. In South America, the oldest site is dated to around 11,000 years ago. What’s interesting is that there really isn’t much evidence of human hunting in the southern continent, with some paleontologists believing they died out prior to the arrival of humans in South America.
Strangely though, in 1944, an account suggests that in Northern Ecuador, Cuvieronius persisted until around 200-400 AD as crude bronze artifacts from Pre-Incan civilization have been found alongside bones. HOWEVER, this should be taken with a handful of salt. The archaeological site was close to an older fossil site and this was before more precise methods of dating were conducted. Today, most paleontologists accept these animals died out some 11,000 years ago.
Cuvieronius, while extinct offers an insight into the end of this underdiscussed group of proboscideans. It also shows that even during the Pleistocene, these animals were able to inhabit a variety of niches across North and South America.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Another proboscidean, and a very underdiscussed genera of elephant. Decided to dig into this guy and it was fascinating to learn about the history of this animal and look into its morphology.

Hardest part about this profile was:
A. Finding out who Fischer was and;
B. Finding information on the claim that Cuvieronius persisted to around 400 AD. I was able to get some information, but this is largely a generalization.
I was only able to find it was close to a Pre-Inca archaeological site, it was done in the 1940s, and the date. I cannot find much else, so I just wrote it off in the profile. Furthermore, I should add the disclaimer that I personally believe this animal died out ~10,000 years ago in South America and around the same time if not earlier in North America.
Will this be in PMP? Yes. I’ve pretty much decided to target Mexico for the second season as its basically a crossroads of the North and South many animals in the Pleistocene. From the Saber-Toothed Cat to Arctodus, to Glyptotherium and Eremotherium. Really cannot wait to get to that for the second season.

Model and Skin were by Demon Hunter, and the only mod I made were tweaking the leg bones in that they didn’t distort when I tried to move them. Impossible to do it for the animal in game, but I’m not making a machinima, I’m making a story with pictures so no big deal on that one. Really love the work he put into this guy, and he makes some kick-ass animals.

Original Model and Skin by Demon Hunter:
Highland Mastodon (Demon Hunter) | ZT2 Download Library Wiki | Fandom

Description
Cuvieronius hyodon
Proboscideans had thrived throughout the Cenozoic and by the Pleistocene, the most derived clade, Elephantimorpha had reached their apex in terms of diversity. Today only 3 species persist to the modern age. However, wind the clocks back some 100,000 years ago, more than 30 species walked the planet. From Woolly Mammoths of the mammoth steppe, Columbian Mammoths of the Great Plains of America, American Mastodon browsing in the forests, Stegodon across Eurasia and colonizing regions such as Java and Japan, and their cousins, Palaeoloxodon right alongside them inhabiting the mainland of Eurasia and several dwarf/pygmy species on the islands of the Mediterranean. However, one group does not get discussed enough is the basal group, the Gompotheres. These animals had persisted for more than 20,000,000 years. Evolving in Africa, spreading into Eurasia, the Middle East and ultimately to America, and primarily were browsing animals. Some had appearances similar to modern elephants, others had four tusks or even some looking like shovel-tusks like the more basal Amebelodonts. By the dawn of the Pleistocene, they had largely been outcompeted by more derived forms of Elephants. Their last bastion was in South America, and the last species was the spiral tusked Cuvieronius hyodon.
History of Discovery:
In 1805, German Paleontologist Alexander von Humboldt was prospecting for fossils in Ecuador. With the help of the local population, he was referred to an area that the native peoples called, “The Field of Giants”. Inquiring about the name, both the natives and even the Spanish Colonials gave the name to this field because in their view, the bones were of giant humans and this field was once their home. Upon excavation of the site, he found what appeared to be molars. But these teeth did not belong to any human, they appeared to be similar to Mastodon teeth. The following year, he sent the teeth to his contemporary anatomist Georges Cuvier where he informally described them for many years. It wasn’t until 1826 Cuvier formally described two species of Mastodon: “Mastodon andium and Mastodon humbodlti”. The names in reference to the foothills of the Andes and von Humboldt.
What neither mend didn’t know is that Gotthelf Fischer had described the animals using the same teeth in 1814 and called them “Mastotherium hyodon”. The generic name meaning “Breast Beast” whereas the specific name meaning “high arch tooth”. Generally, these animals were described as a species of mastodon for decades as it was used as a wastebasket taxon for many basal or browsing forms of elephants. It wasn’t until 1923 when Henry Fairfield Osborn described them properly. Because of the laws that govern binomial nomenclature, since Fischer had described the teeth formally first, the name he gave was Cuvieronius hyodon. Literally meaning, “Cuvier’s High Arch Tooth”.
Evolution:
Cuvieronius’ oldest fossils are from Nevada, some 4,600,000 years ago during the Late Pliocene. Paleontologists believe they evolved from the more basal gomphothere Rhynchotherium. They were successful throughout the latter half of the era, but, by around 1,400,000-1,300,000 years ago in the mid-Pleistocene, they were outcompeted by the arrival of mammoths and mastodons throughout much of North America. However, while one door closed for them in the north, another opened in the south. With the Isthmus of Panama connecting the two continents some 1,800,000 years ago, Cuvieronius and its cousin Notiomastodon were able to migrate into South America and took up the niche of megafaunal herbivore down South.
Description:
Outwardly, Cuvieronius resembled elephants. However, there were marked differences between them. The general build of these animals meant they looked longer in terms of length proportionally. They were also lithe compared to other mainland species of elephantimorphs weighing only around 2.8-3.9 tons depending on the sex. Weighing less than most subspecies of Asian elephants. They had a more elongated, flattened and a more gradually down turned forehead, lacking the single or dual domed skull that belonged to more derived groups of elephants. The molars had more breast-shaped protrusions like their distant cousins, the mastodons. The tusks were fairly long, around 4-6.5ft and while straight, they also spiraled throughout the length of the tusk. As with all elephantimorphs, the males were larger and had longer tusks compared to females.
Behavior:
These gomphotheres are generally believed to have had similar behaviors to modern elephants. An old matriarch would lead the herd and have her young follow her, and they in turn would be with their young. The males would live alone or in bachelor groups and only come to females to mate. In the fossil record, Cuvieronius specimens have been found together and this lends credence to the idea that the behavior of these animals was reminiscent of modern elephants.
Habitat and Dietary Implications:
By the Pleistocene, habitat of these animals was wide-ranging, from as far north as central Texas, to as far south as Chile. More commonly, they have been found near more mountainous areas like Oaxaca, Mexico. Largely it would have varied from a scrubby woodland environment with some savannah regions as well. Largely similar to parts of Paraguay today.
The bulk of the fossils however, have been found in South America. Specifically, in higher environments close to the Andes mountains. Paleontologists think these animals primarily subsisted in more scrubby and woodland environments compared to their contemporary cousins, Notiomastodon. This suggests that these two species of elephant were niche partitioned. Based on the morphology of their teeth, this makes sense, Cuvieronius retained the more browsing-oriented teeth with breast-shaped designed to be used in tandem with powerful jaws to process branches similar to more basal gomphothere. Notiomastodon, despite its name had more flattened teeth resembling African Bush Elephants. This suggests that they were more oriented to being generalist herbivores in lowland areas, browsing off trees and grazing from grasses. Whereas Cuvieronius which fed almost exclusively from trees in more elevated environments.
Extinction and POSSIBLE late survival:
As with many elephantimorphs, these magnificent beasts died out at the end of the Pleistocene some 10-11,000 years ago. The cause of the extinction is not conclusive but, they likely died out due to overhunting and climate change during the dawn of the Holocene.
At a fossil site in Sonora, Mexico dated to around 12,000 years ago, shows evidence of a mass death site committed by Clovis Paleoindians with spearpoints found alongside them. In South America, the oldest site is dated to around 11,000 years ago. What’s interesting is that there really isn’t much evidence of human hunting in the southern continent, with some paleontologists believing they died out prior to the arrival of humans in South America.
Strangely though, in 1944, an account suggests that in Northern Ecuador, Cuvieronius persisted until around 200-400 AD as crude bronze artifacts from Pre-Incan civilization have been found alongside bones. HOWEVER, this should be taken with a handful of salt. The archaeological site was close to an older fossil site and this was before more precise methods of dating were conducted. Today, most paleontologists accept these animals died out some 11,000 years ago.
Cuvieronius, while extinct offers an insight into the end of this underdiscussed group of proboscideans. It also shows that even during the Pleistocene, these animals were able to inhabit a variety of niches across North and South America.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Another proboscidean, and a very underdiscussed genera of elephant. Decided to dig into this guy and it was fascinating to learn about the history of this animal and look into its morphology.

Hardest part about this profile was:
A. Finding out who Fischer was and;
B. Finding information on the claim that Cuvieronius persisted to around 400 AD. I was able to get some information, but this is largely a generalization.
I was only able to find it was close to a Pre-Inca archaeological site, it was done in the 1940s, and the date. I cannot find much else, so I just wrote it off in the profile. Furthermore, I should add the disclaimer that I personally believe this animal died out ~10,000 years ago in South America and around the same time if not earlier in North America.
Will this be in PMP? Yes. I’ve pretty much decided to target Mexico for the second season as its basically a crossroads of the North and South many animals in the Pleistocene. From the Saber-Toothed Cat to Arctodus, to Glyptotherium and Eremotherium. Really cannot wait to get to that for the second season.

Model and Skin were by Demon Hunter, and the only mod I made were tweaking the leg bones in that they didn’t distort when I tried to move them. Impossible to do it for the animal in game, but I’m not making a machinima, I’m making a story with pictures so no big deal on that one. Really love the work he put into this guy, and he makes some kick-ass animals.

Original Model and Skin by Demon Hunter:
Highland Mastodon (Demon Hunter) | ZT2 Download Library Wiki | Fandom