Prehistoric elephant had giant spoonbill instead of trunk which had in-built 'scythe' used to cut its food

Platybelodon lived between eight and 20millions years ago



Had second pair of tusks that it used to cut tough vegetation with

A prehistoric type of elephant had a second pair of tusks that they used to cut tough vegetation.

Platybelodon's bizarre jaw was used as an in-built 'scythe' to saw off their food.

They were originally believed to be water-living creatures that used their incisors to shovel and dig up food from swamps.



Platybelodon used their bizarre second tusks to cut tough vegetation after grabbing it with their trunk

But further investigations into the fossilised tusks have changed the minds of scientists.

Vertebrate palaeontologist William Sanders, from the University of Michigan, told Wired : 'Recent analysis of tusk wear surfaces show that they were used more as scythes to cut tough vegetation.'



Cross-sections of tusks show in-built strength and resistance to abrasion, Wired reported.

Platybelodon lived between 8million and 20million years ago, in what is now Africa, Europe, Asia and North America.

They were successful and thrived at the time but died out during the Miocene Epoch.

Like the modern day elephant, it is believed the platybelodon grabbed tough vegetation with its trunk and sliced it off with its remarkable tusks.

Analysis of the tusks (left) of the Platybelodon (model, right) had an in-built strength to resist abrasion



Platybelodon were slightly smaller than an African elephant and like their descendants had few predators because of their size.

Mr Sanders told the website: 'The trunk is a very separate entity from the mouth. You have to be able to get food into your mouth, and if your front limbs are occupied in posture, and you have upper and lower tusks that would make it difficult to have a long projecting tongue or mobile lips, then you need a proboscis.'