Recently, a team of scientists digging through a tar pit unearthed a jawbone fossil  Initially, the team hypothesized that the jawbone came from a young gomphothere, a now extinct distant relative of the elephant, since the teeth were those of a juvenile  The gomphothere, however, is known for its large molars, and the teeth on the jawbone would not allow enough room for the molars of an adult gomphothere to fit
Based on this evidence, the scientists conclude that the jawbone fossil provides evidence of a distinct species closely related to the gomphothere
The molars of an adult mastodon, a close relative of the gomphothere, are similar in size to those of an adult gomphothere.