From Mammoths by Dr. Larry D. Agenbroad and Lisa Nelson. Copyright 2002 Lerner Publications Company, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, 241First Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55401. Used by permission. All rights reserved

Mammoth Facts

Mammoth Facts Handout

MAMMOTH ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION

Order Proboscidea (includes all elephants)

  • Proboscideans evolved ~50 million years ago (mya)
  • Proboscis = long flexible snout
  • 165 species
    • Mammoths are NOT closely related to mastodons.
  • Mastodons evolved ~25 mya and are quite different from mammoths in size, diet, structure, habitat
    •

    Mammoths are NOT the ancestors of the modern elephant.

    Elephantids split into 3 main groups (making them like first cousins) ~3-5 mya

  • Mammuthus (mammoths - now extinct)
    •
  • Loxodonta (L. africana = modern African elephant)

  • Elephas (E. maximus = modern Asian elephant)
    •
    From Mammoths by Dr. Larry D. Agenbroad and Lisa Nelson. Copyright 2002 Lerner Publications Company, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, 241First Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55401. Used by permission. All rights reserved

    Mammoths occurred originally in Africa
    Then moved north into Europe and Asia
    Steppe mammoth evolved into woolly mammoth
    Woolly mammoth traveled into North America via the land bridge (Central Beringia) ~1.8 mya
    Ancestral mammoth traveled into North America and evolved into Columbian mammoth


    Our knowledge of mammoths is based on the fossil record and our knowledge of modern elephants

    PRINCIPIA'S MAMMOTH:

    Woolly Mammoth - Mammuthus primigenius
    or
    Jefferson's Mammoth - Mammuthus jeffersonii

      Male, based on tusks
    • Large tusks (massive; ~6.5 ft long)
      • Mature, based on teeth
    • 39-43 years old in African Elephant Years
    • M3 molars - # of plates tell us his age
    • Amount of wear on molars refines his age
    • Flat molars for grinding grass
    • 10.7 feet tall at shoulder (3 times the length of the humerus)
    • Ate ~300 pounds of vegetation a day
    • Weighed ~ 6 tons
      • Head is 12-25% of body weight -->short neck --> long nose to reach ground
       

    GEOLOGY

    Buried in wind-blown silt (loess)
  • Loess blankets bluffsSilt derived from glacial deposits in flood plainAccumulated from 12,000-55,000 years ago
  • Our mammoth is in the upper part of the loess so it is estimated to have died ~17,500 years ago 


    • CLIMATE & HABITAT
    Ice Age

  • From 1.65 million years ago to ~10,000 years ago
  • This area - last glacier melted about 125,000 years ago
    • Climate - cold, windy at times (dust storms)
    Habitat - tundra-like steppe environment, grassland      

    How Did They Survive the Cold?

    • Hairy coat - 3 layers
    • Outer guard hairs - coarse, 3’ long in places
    • Underfur - thinner, shorter, 10-12" long
    • Thick layer of wool next to skin - 1-3" long
    • ~4" of fat beneath its skin to insulate it
    • Small ears and short tail (less heat loss)


    "Mammoths" by Dr. Larry D. Agenbroad. Copyright 1998, Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, SD, Inc., Box 692 Hot Springs, SD 57747. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

    COMPARING MAMMOTHS, MASTODONS, AND MODERN ELEPHANTS

    Ancestral mammoth (Mammuthus meridionalis)

    13’ tall
    lived in warm tropical forests
    died out as climate cooled
    Steppe mammoth (Mammuthus trogontherii)
    14’ tall
    became extinct

    Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi)

    13’ tall, weighed 10 tons
    low-latitude temperate grasslands
    large ears

    Woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius)

    11’ tall, weighed 6-8 tons
    cold arctic steppe (grassland)
    head high-crowned
    grazer
    Jefferson's mammoth ( Mammuthus jeffersonii )
    Intermediate between Columbian and Woolly

    Mastodon (Mammut americanum) (not a mammoth)

    shorter, stockier - 8-10’ tall
    head more sloped
    teeth had pointed ridges/cones à browser
    ate branches, twigs, leaves, roots, melons

    African elephant (Loxodonta africana)

    10’ tall, weighs 6 tons (up to 11 tons)
    big ears shaped like Africa
    no domes on head
    back dips in the middle
    longer legs than Asian elephant
    teeth like mammoth - flat

    Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)
    shorter, weighs 5 tons
    smaller ears
    double domes on head
    rounded or hump-shaped back

    EXTINCTION OF MAMMOTHS BY 11,000 YEARS AGO

    Four theories:

    1. Dramatic climate change that affected vegetation patterns and hence, food source

    2. Over-hunting by humans

    3. New diseases introduced by animals and humans crossing on the land bridge from Siberia - no direct evidence exists to support this

    4. Meteorite impact

    Many scientists believe that it was a combination of the first two theories - climate and humans - that caused the extinction of mammoths and many other large mammals by around 11,000 years ago.

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