Gnathabelodon is an extinct genus of gomphothere (a sister group to modern elephants) endemic to North America that includes species that lived during the Middle to Late Miocene.
[2] It has been called the "spoon-billed mastodon" since its lower jaw was elongated and shaped like a shoe-horn or spoon.
The upper tusks are large and curve outwards and upwards.
With respect to dentition and overall body form, it was similar to species of Gomphotherium, but Mothe et al. (2016) recover Gnathabelodon as closer to brevirostrine gomphotheriids than to Gomphotherium.
[3] While some studies have assigned the genus to Gomphotheriidae,[3] other have suggested that it may have closer affinities with Choerolophodontidae.