Aphanobelodon

Aphanobelodon is an extinct genus of proboscidean in the family Amebelodontidae.^[1]

Aphanobelodon Temporal range: Middle Miocene
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Proboscidea
Family:	†Amebelodontidae
Genus:	†Aphanobelodon Wang et al., 2016
Type species
†Aphanobelodon zhaoi Wang et al., 2016

Taxonomy

The holotype is the complete cranium of an adult female, and the paratypes include the remains of another adult female, an adult male, four subadults, and three calves. It is one of the few proboscidean species that lacks upper tusks, a trait previously thought to be unique to deinotheres.^[1]

The generic name comes from aphano, meaning invisible, and belodon, meaning front tooth. The specific name of the type species is after Rong Zhao, who discovered and excavated the specimens.^[1]