|
American
Mastodon
Mammut americanum
 |
Although
the American mastodon was a relative of the prehistoric mammoths,
there were considerable differences between the two animals.
The two major differences were the animals' sizes and their
teeth. The mastodons at Rancho La Brea were roughly half the
size of the mammoths and stood about eight feet tall. Although
the American mastodon had the same number of teeth throughout
their normal lifetime as mammoths, they had more teeth in the
jaw at any one time. The mastodon's simple and low crowned teeth
indicate that this animal had the diet of a browser, an animal
that tends to eat leaves and twigs.
|
 |
|
|
 |
Foot
Note!
Grazer vs. Browser: Scientists can usually tell
the primary diets of animals by looking at their teeth. The
mammoth's tooth on the left is typical for a grazer, an herbivore
that eats grasses. The tall plates of which the tooth is formed
act as grinding stones and chew grasses in the same way a cow
does. In comparison, the ridges on the mastodon's teeth on the
right are lower, typical of a browser, a herbivore that eats
softer vegetation, such as twigs and leaves.
Mammoth and Mastodon Tooth
|
|
Next
|
La
Brea Geology
Biodiversity
American
Mastodon