Eozygodon

Eozygodon is an extinct genus of proboscidean in the family Mammutidae. It is a monotypic genus that contains the single species E. morotoensis, named in 1983.^[1] It is known from the Early Miocene of Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Namibia)^[2] and well as possibly the Middle Miocene of China.^[3] It is considered a primitive member of the family, retaining a long lower jaw (longirostrine) with lower tusks.^[3][4] The upper tusks are small, and are only slightly divergent from each other. The skull of the young adult (around 24-26 years old in African elephant tooth wear equivalent years) AM 02 from Auchas, Namibia, was around the size of that of a 10 year old American mastodon,^[5] around 60 centimetres (2.0 ft) in maximum length.^[6] Some authors suggest that Eozygodon could be less closely related to other members of Mammutidae than other mammutids are to Elephantida, making Mammutidae as typically defined paraphyletic.^[5]

Eozygodon Temporal range: Early Miocene ~23–16 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Occlusal view of the third lower molar (m3) of E. morotoensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Proboscidea
Family:	†Mammutidae
Genus:	†Eozygodon Tassy & Pickford, 1983
Species:	†E. morotoensis
Binomial name
†Eozygodon morotoensis Tassy & Pickford, 1983

Palaeoecology

Dental mesowear from East African specimens suggests a browsing diet.^[7] δ¹³C_enamel values in E. morotoensis from Moroto were very high.^[8]