Summary: Five proboscide species have been found in Paleoindina sites from North to South America: two open-country adaptations, Mammuthus columbi and Cavieronius tarijensis, two woodland and riparian forms, Mammut americanum and Mammuthus jeffersonii, and one tropical savanna species, Haplomastodon chimborazi. Their value in biostratigraphy and as ecological index fossils is discussed with particular emphasis on the Central Mexican Paleoindian sites.