Mammutidae is an extinct family of
proboscideans that first appeared during the
Miocene epoch, and eventually died out by the start of the
Holocene. The
family was first described in 1922, classifying fossil specimens of the type genus
Mammut (
mastodons), and has since been placed in various arrangements of the order. The name 'mastodon' derives from
Greek, μαστός "nipple" and ὀδούς "tooth", as with the genus, to indicate a characteristic that distinguishes them from allied families. The genus
Zygolophodon has also been assigned to this family. Mammutids ranged very widely, as fossils are found in North America, Africa, and throughout Eurasia.
