gomphothere
/ˈɡɑm.fə.θɪɹ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
22
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "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, gomphothere molars are complex, with additional rounded cusps and accessory conules that wear to a complicated trefoil pattern."
- "In contrast, the early gomphotheres have lowcrowned bunodont cheek teeth that are adapted for crushing and grinding rather than cutting.[…]The elephantids emerged from gomphothere stock near the end of the Miocene."
- "These now-extinct animals would have included the gomphotheres, massive extinct relatives of modern elephants, that were obviously plant eaters and flourished in Central America for most of the past five million years."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɡɑm.fə.θɪɹ/
- British English: /ˈɡɒm.fə.θɪə(ɹ)/