gomphothere/ˈɡɒm.fə.θɪə(ɹ)/EtymologyFrom Ancient Greek γόμφος (gómphos, “nail, peg, fastener, joint”) + θηρίον (thēríon, “beast”).nounAny of the extinct proboscideans of the family Gomphotheriidae, that lived in North America and Eurasia during the Miocene and Pliocene (12—1.6 million years ago), and latterly also in South America (around 3 million to 9100 years ago).“The main lineage, the bunodont gomphotheres (called bunomastodonts by some authors), can be traced from Phiomia (from the Oligocene of North Africa) to Gomphotherium (a widespread Miocene genus), Tetralophodon (from the Old World and North America), and Stegomastodon (from the late Tertiary and early Pleistocene of North and South America).[…]Compared to the simple molars of the mastodonts, gompho”