Platybelodon

Name: Platybelodon ‭(‬Flat spear tusk‭)‬.
Phonetic: Plat-e-bel-oh-don.
Named By: Borissiak‭ ‬-‭ ‬1928.
Synonyms: Amebelodon loomisi,‭ ‬Torynobelodon barnumbrowni,‭ ‬Torynobelodon loomisi.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Proboscidea,‭ ‬Gomphotheriidae.
Species: P.‭ ‬danovi‭ (‬type‭)‬,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬grangeri,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬loomisi,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬barnumbrowni.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: About‭ ‬3‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: Africa,‭ ‬Eurasia and North America.
Time period: Langhian of the Miocene through to the early Zanclean of the Pliocene.
Fossil representation: Several individuals.

       A relative to other gomphothere elephants like Gomphotherium and Ambelodon,‭ ‬Platybelodon also had a pair of forward facing tusks in the lower jaw that were shaped into a form of shovel-like structure.‭ ‬Like with its relatives,‭ ‬it is believed that Platybelodon used these tusks as feeding aids for uprooting plants and stripping bark.

Further reading
-‭ ‬The feeding habits of the shovel-tusked gomphotheres‭ (‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Proboscidea,‭ ‬Gomphotheriidae‭)‬:‭ ‬Evidence from tusk wear patterns,‭ ‬W.‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Lambert‭ ‬-‭ ‬1992.
- The gomphotheriid mammal Platybelodon from the Middle Miocene of Linxia Basin, Gansu, China. - Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 58 (2) p221-240. - Shiqi Wang, Wen He & Shanqin Chen - 2013.
- Paleobiological implications of new material of Platybelodon danovi from the Dingjiaergou Fauna, western China - ShiQi Wang & Jie Ye - 2014.
- An examination of the dietary habits of Platybelodon grangeri from the Linxia Basin of China: Evidence from dental microwear of molar teeth and tusks. - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 457: 109–116. - Gina Semprebon, Deng Tao, Jelena Hasjanova & Nikos Solounias - 2016.

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