Degree Name
MS (Master of Science)
Program
Geosciences
Date of Award
5-2020
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Chris Widga
Committee Members
Joshua X. Samuels, Blaine W. Schubert
Abstract
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.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Inabinett, Matthew, "An Unusual Mastodon Revisited: Providing a Regional Focus for Mammut americanum (Proboscidea, Mammutidae) in the Southeast" (2020). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3772. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3772
Copyright
Copyright by the author.