Deinotheriidae - Ecology

Ecology

Harris (1975) argues that deinotheres were "shearing browsers" adapted for feeding on plants above ground level. The way they chewed their food was probably similar to that of modern tapirs, with the front teeth being used to crush the food, while the second and third molars have a strong vertical shearing action, with little lateral (side to side) movement. This chewing action differs from both that of gomphotheres (lateral grinding) and elephants (horizontal shearing). Deinothere molars show little wear, indicating a diet of soft, nongritty, forest vegetation, with the down-turned lower tusks being used for stripping bark or other vegetation.

Deinotherium giganteum has a more elongate lower forelimb than early and middle Miocene Prodeinotherium, indicating a more efficient stride as an adaptation to the spread of savannas in Europe during the late Miocene. Deinotheres would probably migrate from forest to forest, traversing the wide and (to them) useless grasslands.