Gomphotherium

G. productum is known from a 35-year-old male 2.51 m (8 ft 3 in) tall weighing 4.6 t (4.5 long tons; 5.1 short tons). Even larger is G. steinheimense, known from a complete 37-year-old male found in Mühldorf, Germany, which is 3.17 m (10.4 ft.) tall and weighed 6.7 t (6.6 long tons; 7.4 short tons).It had four tusks, two on the upper jaw and two on the elongated lower jaw. The lower tusks are parallel and shaped like a shovel and were probably used for digging up food from mud. Unlike modern elephants, the upper tusks were covered by a layer of enamel. Compared to elephants, the skull was more elongated and low, indicating that the animal had a short trunk, rather like a tapir’s. These animals probably lived in swamps or near lakes, using their tusks to dig or scrape up aquatic vegetation. In comparison to earlier proboscids, Gomphotherium had far fewer molars; the remaining ones had high ridges to expand their grinding surfaces. Gomphotherium spp. inhabited dry wooded regions near lakes.