mastodons and mammoths

Mastodons and mammoths belong to the same order of species—Proboscidea—and look like the modern elephant in more ways than not. But there are distinct differences in their evolutionary timeline, physical appearances, and behaviors. Mastodons are much older than mammoths, by several million years, and were shorter, had straighter tusks, and cone-shaped teeth to grind bark and other wood. Mammoths had flat teeth for eating grass, curvier tusks, and domed heads. Both animals shared the Earth with humans, but mastodons went extinct first—about 12,000 years ago; the youngest known mammoth bones were dated to 4,000 years ago.