# Mastodon (*Mammut americanum*)

Mastodon was a large Ice Age mammal that lived alongside early humans and other megafauna.

- **Category:** [Ancient](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/ancient)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low
- **Habitat:** Ice Age grasslands and tundra
- **Also known as:** Mastodon Elephant

![Mastodon](https://res.cloudinary.com/drieglelr/image/upload/v1771424357/objects/5810.jpg)

## Appearance

The Mastodon was a large, shaggy-haired mammal, often depicted with reddish-brown fur. It had shorter, straighter tusks compared to woolly mammoths, with distinctive conical, nipple-like cusps on its molars. Its body was more robust and lower-slung than a mammoth's.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Animalia

## Interesting facts

- Mastodon babies were called calves, just like modern elephants!
- Mastodons were alive when early humans roamed North America!
- Their name means 'nipple tooth,' after their unique molar shape.
- They migrated across vast landscapes, following seasonal plant food sources.

## Special abilities

- **Power Tusk Drill:** Mastodon has powerful, slightly curved tusks that help them strip bark from trees or dig for roots and aquatic plants.
- **Grinding Machine Jaws:** Mastodon can grind tough vegetation with its distinctive nipple-shaped molar teeth, allowing them to eat coarse plant material.
- **Cold Weather Coat:** Mastodon had a thick, shaggy coat of hair that helped them stay warm and survive in cold, glacial environments.

## Measurements & details

- **Length:** 2.3-3 m
- **Weight:** 4000-6000 kg
- **Era:** Pleistocene Epoch
- **Extinct Millions Years Ago:** 0.011

## Diet & Feeding

These ancient giants munched on trees, shrubs, and marsh plants with their unique teeth.

- **Primary Foods:** Leaves, Twigs, Bark, Conifers, Marsh plants, Aquatic vegetation
- **Foraging Method:** Foraging

## Ecological connections

- **Eaten by:** [Saber-toothed Cat](https://www.snappit.app/explore/saber-toothed-cat) (*Smilodon fatalis*) — Calves were vulnerable to predators.
- **Hunts:** Early Humans (*Homo sapiens*) — Hunted Mastodons for meat and resources.
- **Depends on:** Ponderosa Pine (*Pinus ponderosa*) — Stripped bark and ate needles from trees.
- **Depends on:** [White Oak](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-oak) (*Quercus alba*) — Browsed leaves, twigs, and acorns from oaks.

## Traits

- [Colorful](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/colorful): Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.
- [Ancient](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/ancient): Ancient refers to organisms, objects, or geological formations that have existed for an extremely long period.
- [Artifact](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/artifact): An artifact is an object made or modified by human culture, typically of historical or archaeological interest.
- [Fossil](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/fossil): A fossil is the preserved remains or traces of an ancient organism embedded in rock or other geological deposits.
- [Giant](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/giant): Giant describes organisms or objects of significantly larger size than average for their species or type.

## Collections

- [Ancient](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/ancient)

## Safety

**Danger:** 1/5 · Very low

While extremely dangerous in their time, this creature is now extinct.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Mastodon?

Compare skull shape, horns, plates, limbs, posture and tail. Museum models and toys can mix features or follow outdated reconstructions. Dinosaur Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How long is Mastodon?

2.3-3 m

### How much does Mastodon weigh?

4000-6000 kg

### What does Mastodon eat?

These ancient giants munched on trees, shrubs, and marsh plants with their unique teeth.

### Where is Mastodon usually found?

Ice Age grasslands and tundra

### How does Mastodon hunt?

Foraging

### What geologic era did Mastodon live in?

Pleistocene Epoch

### When did Mastodon go extinct?

0.011

## Where to spot

- [Phillips Park Zoo](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/phillips-park-zoo) — Illinois, US · Zoo

## More Ancient

- [Tyrannosaurus rex](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tyrannosaurus-rex) (*Tyrannosaurus rex*)
- [Triceratops](https://www.snappit.app/explore/triceratops) (*Triceratops horridus*)
- [Stegosaurus](https://www.snappit.app/explore/stegosaurus) (*Stegosaurus stenops*)
- [Brachiosaurus](https://www.snappit.app/explore/brachiosaurus) (*Brachiosaurus altithorax*)

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Source: [Mastodon: Characteristics, Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/mastodon)