Mastodon

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Mastodon \Mas"to*don\, n. [Gr. masto`s the breast + 'odoy`s,
     'odo`ntos, a tooth. So called from the conical projections
     upon its molar teeth.] (Paleon.)
     An extinct genus of mammals closely allied to the elephant,
     but having less complex molar teeth, and often a pair of
     lower, as well as upper, tusks, which are incisor teeth. The


     species were mostly larger than elephants, and their remains
     occur in nearly all parts of the world in deposits ranging
     from Miocene to late Quaternary time.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  mastodon
       n : extinct elephant-like mammal that flourished worldwide from
           Miocene through Pleistocene times; differ from mammoths
           in the form of the molar teeth [syn: {mastodont}]