Mammutidae

Mammutidae is an extinct family of proboscideans that first appeared during the Miocene epoch, and eventually died out by the start of the Holocene. The family was first described in 1922, classifying fossil specimens of the type genus Mammut (mastodons), and has since been placed in various arrangements of the order. The name 'mastodon' derives from Greek, μαστός "nipple" and ὀδούς "tooth", as with the genus, to indicate a characteristic that distinguishes them from allied families. The genus Zygolophodon has also been assigned to this family. Mammutids ranged very widely, as fossils are found in North America, Africa, and throughout Eurasia.

Discoveries

In August 2008, miners in Romania unearthed the skeleton of a 2.5-million-year-old mastodon, believed to be one of the best preserved in Europe. Ninety percent of the skeleton's bones were intact, with damage to the skull and tusks. In 2009, a family in Portland, Michigan, unearthed mastodon bones while excavating a new pond on their property. It is one of around 250 mastodons found in Michigan over the past century.