Notiomastodon Notiomastodon Notiomastodon is an extinct proboscidean genus of gomphothere (a distant relative to modern Elephants) endemic to South America from the Pleistocene to the Holocene living for approximately . Proboscideans in South America were first described by Georges Cuvier in 1806 but he failed to give them specific names beyond "Mastodon". It was Fischer in 1814 who gave the “"mastodonte des cordillères"” specimen the first specific name ""Mastotherium hyodon"". In 1824, Cuvier gave the specific names of ""Mastodon andium"" to the ""mastodonte des cordillères"" specimen, and ""Mastodon humboldtii"" to the ""mastodonte humboldien"". Due to the Principle of Priority, this means
Extinct in the wild among aquarists for some time, but hobbyist stocks have declined quite a lot more recently, placing its survival in jeopardy. However, the ultimate purpose of preserving biodiversity is to maintain ecological function. When a species exists only in captivity, it is ecologically extinct. Reintroduction is the deliberate release of species into the wild, from captivity or relocated from other areas where the species survives. This may be an option for certain species that are endangered or extinct in the wild. However, it may be difficult to reintroduce EW species into the wild, even if their natural habitats were restored, because