Mammoth vs. Mastodon — What's the Difference?

A large, extinct elephant species with long, curved tusks.

A creature known for its conical molars suited for browsing.

A term denoting immense size or magnitude.

An extinct, large mammal related to the elephant with straight tusks.

An animal adapted to cold environments with its thick fur.

An animal that existed in a time frame earlier than the Mammoth.

An iconic representation of the Ice Age fauna.

A term sometimes mistakenly used interchangeably with Mammoth.

A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus Mammuthus, one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair.

A representation of pre-Ice Age fauna.

Any of various extinct elephants of the genus Mammuthus of the Pliocene, Pleistocene, and Holocene Epochs, having ridged molars and often, as in the woolly mammoth, long tusks and hair.

A mastodon (mastós 'breast' + odoús 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus Mammut (family Mammutidae) that inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of the Pleistocene 10,000 to 11,000 years ago. Mastodons lived in herds and were predominantly forest-dwelling animals that lived on a mixed diet obtained by browsing and grazing, somewhat similar to their distant relatives, modern elephants, but probably with greater emphasis on browsing.

Something that is of great size.

Any of several very large, extinct proboscidian mammals of the family Mammutidae of the Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene Epochs, resembling elephants but having molar teeth of a different structure.

Of enormous size, extent, or amount; huge.

Extinct elephant-like mammal of the genus †Mammut that flourished worldwide from Miocene through Pleistocene times; differs from elephants and mammoths in the form of the molar teeth.

Of great scope or importance

(figurative) Anything big or clunky.

Any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus, of large, usually hairy, elephant-like mammals with long curved tusks and an inclined back, which became extinct with the last retreat of ice age glaciers during the late Pleistocene period, and are known from fossils, frozen carcasses, and Paleolithic cave paintings found in North America and Eurasia.

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.

(obsolete) A mastodon.

Extinct elephant-like mammal that flourished worldwide from Miocene through Pleistocene times; differ from mammoths in the form of the molar teeth

(figuratively) Something very large of its kind.

Comparable to a mammoth in its size; very large, huge, gigantic.

An extinct, hairy, maned elephant (Mammuthus primigenius formerly Elephas primigenius), of enormous size, remains of which are found in the northern parts of both continents. The last of the race, in Europe, were coeval with prehistoric man.

Resembling the mammoth in size; very large; gigantic; as, a mammoth ox.

Any of numerous extinct elephants widely distributed in the Pleistocene; extremely large with hairy coats and long upcurved tusks

So exceedingly large or extensive as to suggest a giant or mammoth;

A creature resembling modern-day elephants but adapted to ancient climates.

They are relatives, but modern elephants evolved from different ancestral lines.

Multiple factors like climate change and human hunting contributed to their extinction.

While Mammoths are famously known for their fur, not all Mastodons were as hairy.

Generally, Mammoths were larger, but size varied among species.

Yes, there were periods when both species coexisted, though Mastodons appeared earlier.

Many have been found in Siberia and North America.

No, both were herbivores but had different dietary preferences.

The concept is debated, but as of now, there's no successful cloning of these creatures.

Yes, both Mammoths and Mastodons had trunks.

The Mammoth, especially the woolly variety, is more iconic in pop culture.