Rhynchotherium

Rhynchotherium; Temporal range:Miocene–Pliocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Restoration
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Proboscidea
Family:	†Gomphotheriidae
Genus:	†Rhynchotherium; Falconer,1868
Type species
	†Rhynchotherium falconeri; Osborn, 1923
Species
	R. browni; R. edensis; R. falconeri; R. paredensis; R. simpsoni;

Rhynchotheriumis an extinct genus ofproboscideaendemic toNorth AmericaandCentral Americaduring theMiocenethroughPliocenefrom 13.650 to 3.6Ma,living for approximately10million years.^[1]

Thisgomphotherehad twotusksand may have evolved fromGomphotherium.^[2]

Taxonomy

Rhynchotheriumwas first described in 1868 on the basis of a lower jaw from the Miocene ofTlaxcala,Mexico.^[3]Later, the type species epithetR. tlascalaewas erected for the jaw byHenry Fairfield Osbornin 1918. In 1921, a gomphothere skull from the Mt. Eden area of southern California was described as a subspecies ofTrilophodon shepardi(a now-defunct combination forMastodon shepardi),T. s. edensis,^[4]but was subsequently reassigned toRhynchotherium.^[5]Other species subsequently assigned toRhynchotheriumincludedR. falconeri,^[6]R. paredensis,R. browni,^[7]andR. simpsoni.^[8]It was the closest relative toCuvieronius,and may be ancestral to it.^[9]

Lucas and Morgan (2008) reviewed the taxonomy ofRhynchotheriumand concluded that onlyR. edensis,R. falconeri,R. paredensis,R. browni,andR. simpsonicould be confidently referred toRhynchotherium.^[10]Because the genotype ofRhynchotheriumis referable toGomphotherium,the ICZN was petitioned to conserve the genus by designatingR. falconerias the type species,^[11]which it did.^[12]

Misassigned species

Mastodon shepardiLeidy, 1871
Mastodon euhypodonCope, 1884 - likely a species ofGomphotherium^[10]
Tetrabelodon brevidensCope, 1889
Dibelodon praecursorCope, 1893
Rhynchotherium rectidensOsborn, 1923
Aybelodon hondurensisFrick, 1933
Blickotherium blickiFrick, 1933
Rhynchotherium anguirivaleOsborn, 1936

Phylogenetic position according to Mothé et al. (2016)^[9]

†Gomphotheriidae(Gomphotheres)

†Gomphotherium

†Gnathabelodon

†Eubelodon

Brevirostrine clade

†Stegomastodon

†Sinomastodon

†Notiomastodon

	†Rhynchotherium

	†Cuvieronius

References

^Paleobiology database:Rhynchotheriumbasic info
^Arroyo-Cabrales, J.; Polaco, O. J.; Laurito, C.; Johnson, E.; Alberdi, M. T.; Zamora, A. L. V. (2007). "The proboscideans (Mammalia) from Mesoamerica".Quaternary International.169–170.Elsevier:17–23.Bibcode:2007QuInt.169...17A.doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2006.12.017.
^FALCONER, H. (1868): Paleontological Memoirs. Volume II: 74 –75; London (Hardwicke).
^C. Frick. 1921. Extinct vertebrate faunas of the badlands of Bautista Creek and San Timoteo Canyon, southern California. University of California Publications in Geology 12(5):277-424
^FRICK, C. (1933): New Remains of Trilophodont-Tetralophodont mastodons. – Bulletin American Museum of Natural History, 59: 505 – 652.
^OSBORN, H. F. (1923): New subfamily, generic and specific stages in the evolution of the proboscidea. – American Museum Novitates, 99: 1– 4.
^OSBORN, H. F. (1936): Proboscidea: a monograph of the discovery, evolution, migration, and extinction of the mastodonts and elephants of the world, vol. 1: Moeritherioidea, Deinotherioidea, Mastodontoidea. New York (The American Museum Press).
^OLSEN, S. J. (1957): A new beak-jawed mastodont from Florida. – Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India, 2: 131–135.
^^a ^bMothé, Dimila; Ferretti, Marco P.; Avilla, Leonardo S. (12 January 2016)."The Dance of Tusks: Rediscovery of Lower Incisors in the Pan-American Proboscidean Cuvieronius hyodon Revises Incisor Evolution in Elephantimorpha".PLOS ONE.11(1): e0147009.Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1147009M.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0147009.PMC4710528.PMID 26756209.
^^a ^bLUCAS, S.G. & MORGAN, G.S., 2008. Taxonomy of Rhynchotherium (Mammalia, Proboscidea) from the Miocene-Pliocene of North America.- New Mex. Mus. Nat. Hist. Sci. Bull. 44: 71-87.
^LUCAS, S. G. (2010):RhynchotheriumFalconer, 1868 (Mammalia; Proboscidea): proposed conservation of usage by designation ofRhynchotherium falconeriOSBORN, 1923 as the type species. – Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature, 67: 158 –162.
^"OPINION 2295 (Case 3515) Rhynchotherium Falconer, 1868 (Mammalia; Proboscidea): usage conserved by designation of Rhynchotherium falconeri Osborn, 1923 as the type species".March 2012.

[1] Paleobiology database:Rhynchotheriumbasic info

[2] Arroyo-Cabrales, J.; Polaco, O. J.; Laurito, C.; Johnson, E.; Alberdi, M. T.; Zamora, A. L. V. (2007). "The proboscideans (Mammalia) from Mesoamerica".Quaternary International.169–170.Elsevier:17–23.Bibcode:2007QuInt.169...17A.doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2006.12.017.

[3] FALCONER, H. (1868): Paleontological Memoirs. Volume II: 74 –75; London (Hardwicke).

[4] C. Frick. 1921. Extinct vertebrate faunas of the badlands of Bautista Creek and San Timoteo Canyon, southern California. University of California Publications in Geology 12(5):277-424

[5] FRICK, C. (1933): New Remains of Trilophodont-Tetralophodont mastodons. – Bulletin American Museum of Natural History, 59: 505 – 652.

[6] OSBORN, H. F. (1923): New subfamily, generic and specific stages in the evolution of the proboscidea. – American Museum Novitates, 99: 1– 4.

[7] OSBORN, H. F. (1936): Proboscidea: a monograph of the discovery, evolution, migration, and extinction of the mastodonts and elephants of the world, vol. 1: Moeritherioidea, Deinotherioidea, Mastodontoidea. New York (The American Museum Press).

[8] OLSEN, S. J. (1957): A new beak-jawed mastodont from Florida. – Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India, 2: 131–135.

[Mothé_et_al_2016-9] Mothé, Dimila; Ferretti, Marco P.; Avilla, Leonardo S. (12 January 2016)."The Dance of Tusks: Rediscovery of Lower Incisors in the Pan-American Proboscidean Cuvieronius hyodon Revises Incisor Evolution in Elephantimorpha".PLOS ONE.11(1): e0147009.Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1147009M.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0147009.PMC4710528.PMID 26756209.

[LS2008-10] LUCAS, S.G. & MORGAN, G.S., 2008. Taxonomy of Rhynchotherium (Mammalia, Proboscidea) from the Miocene-Pliocene of North America.- New Mex. Mus. Nat. Hist. Sci. Bull. 44: 71-87.

[11] LUCAS, S. G. (2010):RhynchotheriumFalconer, 1868 (Mammalia; Proboscidea): proposed conservation of usage by designation ofRhynchotherium falconeriOSBORN, 1923 as the type species. – Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature, 67: 158 –162.

[12] "OPINION 2295 (Case 3515) Rhynchotherium Falconer, 1868 (Mammalia; Proboscidea): usage conserved by designation of Rhynchotherium falconeri Osborn, 1923 as the type species".March 2012.

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