Cuvieronius
| Cuvieronius Fossil range: Pliocene to Recent |
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 Skull of Cuvieronius hyodon
Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris |
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Extinct (fossil)
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Cuvieronius is an extinct New World genus of Gomphothere.
Cuvieronius named after the French naturalist Georges Cuvier, stood 2.7m (9 ft) tall and looked like a modern elephant except for its spiral-shaped tusks. The creature initially evolved in North America, but was also one of the few proboscid mammals to colonize South America during the Great American Interchange, reaching there around 2 million years ago and traveling as far south as Argentina. It survived well into the human era, going extinct due to hunting around the year 400. The fact that Cuvieronius went extinct around A.D. 400 rules out the possibility that the climate change at the end of the ice age was the cause of their extinction. Fossils have been found in Florida, Arizona, and Argentina.
External Sites
- American Museum of Natural History Includes images.
References
- Graham RW (2001) Late Quaternary Biogeography and Extinction of Proboscideans in North America . The World of Elephants (La Terra degli Elephanti), Proceedings of the 1st International Congress (Atti del 1� Congrsso Internazionale, A cura di: G. Cavarretta, P Giola, M. Mussi, M. R. Palombo), G. Cavarretta, P Giola, M. Mussi, M. R. Palombo (Eds.), Roma 16-20 October, 707-709
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