Mastodon

North American Road Builders (Scientific Theory)
Mastodons were browsers, not grazers. They tended to go in a straight line from food source to food source. These massive animals in massive herds would continually walk the same paths for thousands of years. This would make a wide compacted flat trail. Rain water would carve the trails deep into elevated regions, contributing to the developing of mountain passes. When the mammoths (grazers) migrated (mostly north-south) they tended to follow the mastodon tracks where they found them because it was easier than navigating vegetation and unflattened paths. Also the enormous prehistoric muskox traversed these trails. This occurred twice a year for thousands of years, further developing the path. So great was the traffic that even the narrowest paths and the rockiest ground were eventually reduces to wide smooth surfaces. The Mastadons and and mammoths were both replaced by the bison (that were much, much larger at one time) that engaged in browsing (a little bit), grazing, and migrating on these very old paths. The Native Americans followed the bison on these paths and used these paths for travel in general. Eventually the settlers where guided to these paths by the Native Americans or occasionally the modern bison. These paths, when located, were an excellent start for railroads and eventually paved roads. This one reason is why rails roads and bison did not coexist well. the paths were made even wider and flatter and in some cases carving into mountains to make them shorter. These were inviting to the bison and even shelter in mountain passes where the carved path was ,ore out of the weather . Sometime they would block the tracks for days. Sadly, there is not one road, or even an American car, named after mastodons, mammoths, muskox, or bison.

This article is duplicated in the mammoth group
This article is duplicated in the Bison group

Another Proboscidea that may have been around during human civilization before extinction. Mastodon look distinctly different from elephant and mammoth. Their bodies are stocky and somewhat rhinoceros like but having slightly longer and more muscular legs. Their heads to not point down but forward, again like a rhinoceros but with no distinct neck. Their tusks likewise are nearly horizontal and point mostly forward with much less upward curve than elephant or mammoth. Their second smaller set of tusks originate in their lower jaw. Only the females kept this lower set their whole lives. Finally their most distinctive feature is their truck. It does not appear to start at the tip of their 'nose' but rather seems to begin on top of their head before curving down in front of their mouth. This gives them a 'dome forehead look' when viewed in profile. It is thought that the mastadon did not use it trunk to primarily lift grass and plantlife from the open ground like elephants and mammoths grazed; but rather it preferred to used its truck to grab leaves and fruits in forested areas from eye level or higher.

Parent Tag
Proboscidea (Elephant-like creatures)

Related Tags
Elephant
Mastodon
Mammoth
Moeritherium
Platybelodon
Phosphatherium
Numidotherium (Numidia beast)
Amebelodon
Barytherium
Anthracobunidae
Gomphotheres
Mammutidae
Desmostylia
oliphaunts (mûmakil)