 "Phosphatherium" is known primarily from two maxilla fragments dated to the latest Paleocene deposits of the Ouled Abdoun Basin, Morocco, which date from the Thanetian epoch.It is one of the oldest and smallest members of the Proboscidea, with an estimated shoulder height of about and body mass of .Like its later relative, "Moeritherium", the animal was probably an amphibious browser that fed on aquatic plants, akin to a very small tapir.