503: mastodons Apr 24, 2016

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Mastodons are probably best known for their tusks, but that's not what paleontologists thought. 'Mastodon' comes from a compound of the Greek 'mastos' which means ‘breast’ and 'odous, odont-" which means ‘tooth’. Why breasts‽ It is a reference to tubercles on the crowns of the molars which the discoverer saw as nipple-shaped.

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