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mastodon
mastodon , name for a number of prehistoric mammals of the extinct genus Mammut, from which modern elephants are believed to have developed. The earliest known forms lived in the Oligocene epoch in Africa. These were long-jawed mastodons about 4 1/2 ft (137 cm) high, with four tusks and a greatly elongated face. Their descendants in the Miocene epoch were the size of large elephants, the latest forms having long, flexible trunks, like those of elephants, and only two tusks. During Miocene times they spread over Europe, Asia, and North America. The mastodons were forest dwellers; they obtained their food by browsing and their teeth were more numerous and of a simpler form than those of the elephant. They were apparently extinct in the Old World by the early Pleistocene epoch but survived in North America until late Pleistocene times. They are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Proboscidae, family Mammutidae. |
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"mastodon." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "mastodon." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-mastodon.html "mastodon." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-mastodon.html |
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mastodon
mastodon Any of several species of extinct elephantine mammals, all of which existed mainly in the Pleistocene epoch. Mastodons had a long coat of red hair; the grinding teeth were notably smaller and less complex than those of modern elephants, and the males had small tusks on the lower as well as the upper jaw. Genus Mastodon.
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"mastodon." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "mastodon." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-mastodon.html "mastodon." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-mastodon.html |
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mastodon
mas·to·don / ˈmastəˌdän/ • n. a large, extinct, elephantlike mammal (Mammutidae and other families, many species) of the Miocene to Pleistocene epochs, having teeth of a relatively primitive form and number. |
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"mastodon." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "mastodon." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-mastodon.html "mastodon." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-mastodon.html |
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mastodon
mastodon extinct elephantine mammal having nipple-shaped tubercles on the molars. XIX. f. Gr. mastós breast + odðn, odont- TOOTH.
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T. F. HOAD. "mastodon." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "mastodon." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-mastodon.html T. F. HOAD. "mastodon." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-mastodon.html |
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mastodon
mastodon See GOMPHOTHERIIDAE; and MAMMUTIDAE.
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AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "mastodon." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "mastodon." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-mastodon.html AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "mastodon." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-mastodon.html |
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mastodon
mastodon (Mammut, Mastodon) See MAMMUTIDAE.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "mastodon." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "mastodon." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-mastodon.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "mastodon." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-mastodon.html |
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mastodon
mastodon •radon • Chalcedon • Proudhon
•Mogadon • pteranodon • iguanodon
•mastodon • chiffon • Ctesiphon
•bouffant • balafon • Xenophon
•Bellerophon
•argon, Sargon
•Dagon • woebegone • bygone
•doggone, logon
•dodecagon • Dijon • demijohn • ancon
•archon • racon • Comecon • emoticon
•stereopticon • icon • walk-on • neocon
•Yukon • zircon • salon • Fablon
•decathlon • Teflon • Dralon • Simplon
•Babylon • papillon • propylon
•epsilon • nylon • Orlon
•eidolon, roll-on, Solon
•mouflon • Ascalon • Ashqelon
•echelon • Avalon
•gnomon, Jomon
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"mastodon." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "mastodon." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-mastodon.html "mastodon." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-mastodon.html |
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