Rhynchotherium is an extinct genus of proboscidea endemic to North America and Central America during the Miocene through Pliocene from 13.650 to 3.6 Ma, living for approximately 10 million years.[1]

Rhynchotherium
Temporal range: Miocene–Pliocene
Restoration
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Proboscidea
Family: Gomphotheriidae
Genus: Rhynchotherium
Falconer, 1868
Type species
Rhynchotherium falconeri
Osborn, 1923
Species
  • R. browni
  • R. edensis
  • R. falconeri
  • R. paredensis
  • R. simpsoni

This gomphothere had two tusks and may have evolved from Gomphotherium.[2]

Taxonomy

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Rhynchotherium was first described in 1868 on the basis of a lower jaw from the Miocene of Tlaxcala, Mexico.[3] Later, the type species epithet R. tlascalae was erected for the jaw by Henry Fairfield Osborn in 1918. In 1921, a gomphothere skull from the Mt. Eden area of southern California was described as a subspecies of Trilophodon shepardi (a now-defunct combination for Mastodon shepardi), T. s. edensis,[4] but was subsequently reassigned to Rhynchotherium.[5] Other species subsequently assigned to Rhynchotherium included R. falconeri,[6] R. paredensis, R. browni,[7] and R. simpsoni.[8] It was the closest relative to Cuvieronius, and may be ancestral to it.[9]

Lucas and Morgan (2008) reviewed the taxonomy of Rhynchotherium and concluded that only R. edensis, R. falconeri, R. paredensis, R. browni, and R. simpsoni could be confidently referred to Rhynchotherium.[10] Because the genotype of Rhynchotherium is referable to Gomphotherium, the ICZN was petitioned to conserve the genus by designating R. falconeri as the type species,[11] which it did.[12]

 
Life restoration of Rhynchotherium falconeri, a North American species of the genus.

Misassigned species

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  • Mastodon shepardi Leidy, 1871
  • Mastodon euhypodon Cope, 1884 - likely a species of Gomphotherium[10]
  • Tetrabelodon brevidens Cope, 1889
  • Dibelodon praecursor Cope, 1893
  • Rhynchotherium rectidens Osborn, 1923
  • Aybelodon hondurensis Frick, 1933
  • Blickotherium blicki Frick, 1933
  • Rhynchotherium anguirivale Osborn, 1936

Phylogenetic position according to Mothé et al. (2016)[9]

Gomphotheriidae (Gomphotheres)

Gomphotherium

Gnathabelodon

Eubelodon

Brevirostrine clade

Stegomastodon

Sinomastodon

Notiomastodon

Rhynchotherium

Cuvieronius

References

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  1. ^ Paleobiology database: Rhynchotherium basic info
  2. ^ Arroyo-Cabrales, J.; Polaco, O. J.; Laurito, C.; Johnson, E.; Alberdi, M. T.; Zamora, A. L. V. (2007). "The proboscideans (Mammalia) from Mesoamerica". Quaternary International. 169–170. Elsevier: 17–23. Bibcode:2007QuInt.169...17A. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2006.12.017.
  3. ^ FALCONER, H. (1868): Paleontological Memoirs. Volume II: 74 –75; London (Hardwicke).
  4. ^ C. Frick. 1921. Extinct vertebrate faunas of the badlands of Bautista Creek and San Timoteo Canyon, southern California. University of California Publications in Geology 12(5):277-424
  5. ^ FRICK, C. (1933): New Remains of Trilophodont-Tetralophodont mastodons. – Bulletin American Museum of Natural History, 59: 505 – 652.
  6. ^ OSBORN, H. F. (1923): New subfamily, generic and specific stages in the evolution of the proboscidea. – American Museum Novitates, 99: 1– 4.
  7. ^ OSBORN, H. F. (1936): Proboscidea: a monograph of the discovery, evolution, migration, and extinction of the mastodonts and elephants of the world, vol. 1: Moeritherioidea, Deinotherioidea, Mastodontoidea. New York (The American Museum Press).
  8. ^ OLSEN, S. J. (1957): A new beak-jawed mastodont from Florida. – Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India, 2: 131–135.
  9. ^ a b Mothé, Dimila; Ferretti, Marco P.; Avilla, Leonardo S. (12 January 2016). "The Dance of Tusks: Rediscovery of Lower Incisors in the Pan-American Proboscidean Cuvieronius hyodon Revises Incisor Evolution in Elephantimorpha". PLOS ONE. 11 (1): e0147009. Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1147009M. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0147009. PMC 4710528. PMID 26756209.
  10. ^ a b LUCAS, S.G. & MORGAN, G.S., 2008. Taxonomy of Rhynchotherium (Mammalia, Proboscidea) from the Miocene-Pliocene of North America.- New Mex. Mus. Nat. Hist. Sci. Bull. 44: 71-87.
  11. ^ LUCAS, S. G. (2010): Rhynchotherium Falconer, 1868 (Mammalia; Proboscidea): proposed conservation of usage by designation of Rhynchotherium falconeri OSBORN, 1923 as the type species. – Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature, 67: 158 –162.
  12. ^ "OPINION 2295 (Case 3515) Rhynchotherium Falconer, 1868 (Mammalia; Proboscidea): usage conserved by designation of Rhynchotherium falconeri Osborn, 1923 as the type species". March 2012.