A new species of the tetralophodont amebelodontine Konobelodon Lambert, 1990 (Proboscidea, Mammalia) from the Late Miocene of China

Here we describe a new species of Konobelodon Lambert, 1990 – a poorly known tetralophodont shovel-tusked proboscidean – from the Late Miocene of the Linxia Basin, China. Detailed osteological anatomies of skulls, teeth, and partial postcranial bones of the new taxon, Konobelodon robustus n. sp., are described and detailed morphological comparisons with the other species of Konobelodon (K. atticus (Wagner, 1857) = Mastodon grandincisivus, Schlesinger 1917, and K. britti (Lambert, 1990)) and other gomphotheres are conducted. The skull and jaw-closing muscles of a juvenile individual of the new species are reconstructed and the body mass is estimated based on its limb bones. Phylogenetic analysis of genera within Elephantimorpha results in three most parsimonious trees, of which two support a sister-group relationship between Konobelodon and Platybelodon, within a monophyletic Amebelodontinae. The new results enhance our knowledge on the anatomy and phylogeny of Konobelodon, and indicate pronounced diversification and strong parallel evolution in the amebelodontines.