Fauna
Mammal

Mastodon

Mammut ohioticum

Also known as American Mastodon, Ohio Mastodon

American mastodons browsed North America's dense conifer forests and wet lowlands, using high-crowned, cone-cusped molars to crush woody branches, spruce twigs, and aquatic plants. Mature bulls frequently engaged in violent seasonal sparring matches, leaving deep puncture wounds and broken ribs documented across the fossil record. Though resembling mammoths at a glance, they possessed longer bodies, shorter legs, and straighter backs suited for navigating dense timber rather than open steppe.

HerbivoreIce Age
Mastodon reference
AbstractionBlue / CC BY 4.0 · cc-by
—observations
—countries
—peak records
ExtinctConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXExtinctRed List categories, explained →
Key facts
Diet & preySpruce twigs and needles, Deciduous tree bark, Wetland sedges
Predators
  • Early humans
  • Dire wolves
  • Sabertooth cats
ThreatsLate-Pleistocene climate change and human hunting pressure
HabitatsSpruce woodlands, boreal bogs, peatlands, and temperate forests
Life span60–70 years
Classification
  1. FamilyMammutidae
  2. SpeciesMammut ohioticum
Range & activity
Range data is not available yet.
Safe observation
Interaction riskHigh
  1. Low
  2. Moderate
  3. High
  4. Very high
Why interaction risk is high
Their massive weight and long tusks presented serious trampling hazards; observe fossil displays from marked museum barriers.
Why it is dangerous
Immense physical bulk reaching eight metric tons coupled with heavy curved tusks created catastrophic crushing and impalement forces.
How to recognize a risky encounter
Distinguished by a stockier build than mammoths, straighter backs, and molars with paired conical cusps.
What to do
This species is extinct; enjoy observing intact fossil skeletons and trackways behind museum barriers.
Responsible observation
  • Tooth inspection: Look for paired, cone-shaped cusps on fossil teeth to distinguish them from flat mammoth plates.
  • Fossil finds: Leave discovered bones undisturbed in peat or gravel and report them to local paleontology authorities.
Related species
Help improve the field guideSomething wrong?

Report a name, category, or profile issue for review.

Checking your Fauna account…