[1][2] They are distinguished from other proboscideans by having flattened lower tusks (leading to the nickname "shovel tuskers") and very elongate mandibular symphysis.

[3] Their molar teeth are typically trilophodont (with only Konobelodon being fully tetralophodont), and possessed posttrite conules.

[4] In the past, amebelodonts' shovel-like mandibular tusks led to them being portrayed scooping up water plants, however, dental microwear suggests that they were browsers and mixed feeders.

The lower tusks have been proposed to have had a variety of functions depending on the species, including stripping bark, cutting through vegetation, as well as possibly digging.

[4] While some phylogenetic studies have recovered Amebelodontidae as a monophyletic group that forms the sister group to Gomphotheriidae proper,[7] some authors have argued that Amebelodontidae may be polyphyletic, with it being suggested that the shovel-tusked condition arose several times independently within Gomphotheriidae, thus rendering the family invalid.