Palaeomastodon fossil map
Where fossils of Palaeomastodon have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 30 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 30 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 | 37.71–23.04 million years ago (Priabonian to Chattian) |
| Periods | Paleogene |
| Family | Palaeomastodontidae |
| Named by | Andrews 1901 |
| Fossil records | 12 occurrences at 4 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Libya |
| Rock formations | txn:86199, Jebel Qatrani, Shumaysi |
About Palaeomastodon
Palaeomastodon ("ancient mastodon") is an extinct genus of basal proboscideans from the Oligocene of North Africa. The first specimen discovered was recovered from strata belonging to the Fayum fossil deposits of Egypt. It was described and named in 1901 by Charles Williams Andrews, who named its type species, P. beadnelli, after a colleague. Multiple species have been named since, though have either been reassigned to Phiomia or synonymised with P. beadnelli. Three (possible) unnamed taxa are known from Ethiopia and Libya. All remains are from strata that date to 33–27 million years ago.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Palaeomastodon (revision 1370056815), 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: Q132789.
