If Clovis culture developed in the Great Plains as traditionally thought, that must have occurred much earlier than scientists previously estimated--well before
gomphothere hunters inhabited El Fin del Mundo, says anthropologist and study coauthor Vance Holliday of the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Rare, small fragments of teeth with enamel thicker than that of the horse or prosynthetocerine, but smaller than that of the
gomphothere, currently document some type of rhinoceros at Fort Polk.
Lenz (2001) hypothesized that beginning in the middle Miocene (15.1-11.2 mya) mammals such as
gomphotheres, mastadons and mammoths likely were long distance dispersers of Joshua tree seeds.
This could indicate that Pliocene rhynchotheres were more flexible in their feeding habits, similar to those found in Pleistocene
gomphotheres (Sanchez et al., 2004; Perez-Crespo, 2013).
There they killed elephant-like creatures called
gomphotheres, Clovis spearpoints (one shown above) found with bones indicate (SN: 8/9/14, p.
In the case of Cassia grandis, Janzen and Martin figured that the foot-long woody seed pods were eaten for their sweet pulp by giant ground-sloths and elephant-like
gomphotheres. These multi-ton animals had such big gullets that they didn't need to chew a lot, so most of the seeds passed through the animals unharmed and ready to propagate more Cassia grandis trees.
& FRASSINETTI, D., 2001.- The Pleistocene
Gomphotheres (Proboscidea) from South America: diversity, habitats and feeding ecology.
The research examined carbon and oxygen isotopes within tooth enamel to understand the diets of medium to large mammals, including pronghorn, deer, llamas, peccaries, tapirs, horses, mastodons, mammoths and
gomphotheres, a group of extinct elephant-like animals.
Prado JL, Alberdi MT, Sanchez B, Azanza B (2003) Diversity of the Pleistocene
Gomphotheres (Gomphoteriidae, Proboscidea) from South America.
-- Dental remains of the American mastodont are recognized by their relatively thick enamel (6.2 mm on ET 5403), smooth occlusal surface, and the absence of additional enamel plications characteristic of
gomphotheres. ET 5410 consists of a small portion of mandible bearing a smooth and conical alveolus.
