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At a glance, it is very difficult to distinguish between these two cousins of the elephant, both of which have been extinct for thousands of years. “The main differences between the mammoth and the mastodon are the period in which they lived and certain particularities regarding their teeth”, says biologist Mara Marques de Ângelo, from the São Paulo Zoological Foundation. As the variation in dentition is in the inner part of the mouth, only a good prehistoric dentist could separate one from the other. Clearly differentiating between mammoths and mastodons is further complicated by the fact that both divide into several species with different sizes and anatomical details. To give you an idea, there were giant mammoths, around 5 meters tall, and others less than 2 meters tall.
Until today, scientists still have not reached a consensus on the causes of the extinction of these animals, but some argue that the hunting of cubs by man may have contributed to their disappearance. Both are classified within the order of proboscideans, which once had about 350 species, all extinct, with the exception of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) and the African one (Loxodonta africana), which appeared about 10,000 years ago. Oh, just in time: in the Next Chapter section of the last issue, the animal that appeared in the illustration was a mastodon.
Geographical distribution, age of life and internal teeth separate from each other
EACH ONE IN HIS CORNER
Mammoths inhabited northern Europe, North America and especially Siberia, where fossils in an excellent state of conservation were found buried in the ice. Mastodons could also be found in these regions, but they spread more across the planet, with some species occupying vast areas of South America.
DIFFERENT BITES
Both had fur and were, on average, 4 meters tall. The main anatomical difference was in the dentition. Mammoth teeth had a longer base and flat surface, ideal for feeding in grasslands. Those of mastodons, on the other hand, had a lower base and an irregular surface, ideal for pulling branches and bushes.
CONFLICT OF GENERATIONS
Mastodons lived longer on Earth than mammoths. While the latter only existed in the Pleistocene period, between 1.6 million years and 10,000 years ago, mastodons appeared in the Miocene period, between 23.7 million years and 5.3 million years ago. Both went extinct around the same time, at the end of the Pleistocene.