Notiomastodon fossil map
Where fossils of Notiomastodon have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 0 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 23.04 million years ago to the present (Aquitanian to Holocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Gomphotheriidae |
| Named by | Cabrera 1929 |
| Fossil records | 380 occurrences at 178 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Uruguay, Venezuela, Bolivia, O3 |
| Rock formations | txn:43240, Solimões, Lujan, Dolores, Salto Ander Egg, Tarija |
About Notiomastodon
Notiomastodon is an extinct genus of gomphothere proboscidean (related to modern elephants), endemic to South America from the Pleistocene to the early Holocene. Individuals of Notiomastodon reached a size similar to that of the modern Asian elephant, with a body mass of 3-4 tonnes. Like other brevirostrine gomphotheres such as Cuvieronius and Stegomastodon, Notiomastodon had a shortened lower jaw and lacked lower tusks, unlike more primitive gomphotheres like Gomphotherium.
The genus was originally named in 1929, and has been controversial in the course of taxonomic history as it has frequently been confused with or synonymized with forms called Haplomastodon and Stegomastodon. Extensive anatomical studies since the 2010s have shown that Notiomastodon represents the only valid proboscidean in lowland South America. Haplomastodon is synonymous and Stegomastodon is limited to North America, while the only other gomphothere in South America, Cuvieronius, was confined to the northwestern part of the continent.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Notiomastodon (revision 1376506604), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q2002264.
