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Genus Mammuthus
Illustration how the Mammoths spread
The genus mammoths, in latin Mammuthus ,
was a group of species, belonging to the family of elephants , entirely separated in
taxonomy from the Mastodons and the genus family Mammutidae, although they sometimes
shared the same envoronment. (For scientific reasons, the mastodons was renamed to family Mammutidae, which became a source for future confusion and misunderstandings).
The Mammoths probably has origin from Stegodon and started to develop during upper Pliocene, (some 4 million years ago) in africa,
spred to europe and asia, and Mammuthus meridionalis went over Bering Strait to north america
about 1.8 million years ago, (the wooly Mammoth went over much later) and became extinct
during lower Holocene, probaby exterminated by prehistoric humans who hunted elephants and Mammoths and made huts and houses out of their bones .
Characters of Mammoths
They had bumps on their head
Both sexes had tusks
Some tusks were straight, some were curved
The longest tusks were up to 13 feet (4 m) long.
Mammoths had longer tusks than Mastodons, a wider head, a sloping back and flat chewing teeth
Their trunk had two finger-like projections like african elephants
Their teeth were flat like asian elephants
Most species was not larger than recent elephants
Compare with the african bush elephant! and the asian elephant!
Taxonomy and species
Recently made DNA-tests (Extern reference link) gives the indication that genus Mammuthus is a sister genus to elephas , with a gap to Loxodonta.
Mammoths lived in different areas, some in the northern arctic areas, but not all of them, and they developed over a long period into different forms, so when speaking about Mammoths, it should be clear that this is a group of species, and not only the species wolly Mammoth.
There were several recognized species:
Extinction and excavation sites
The first Mammoths started to appear some 2 million years ago, and they share ancestor with the recent asian elephant.
The last mammoths was still living 4 000 years ago at Wrangel Island in the Arctic Sea north of Siberia.
They were dwarf like, abt 1.8 meters high, probably as an adaption to the life on an island.
1910 a whole skeleton was excavated in Germany (picture above)
Several mammoths have been excavated from 20 000 year old layers at the ancient lake shores of Basin of Mexico near Mexico City
Dr. Ernest L. Lundelius, Jr. of the Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory excavated 1985 a partial mammoth skeleton in Travis County, Texas.
In 1997, Simion Jarkov, a 9-year-old nomadic reindeer herder came across a pair of woolly mammoth tusks buried in the frozen tundra of Siberia. This mammoth baby is called Dima
One of the best preserved Canadian specimens consists of most of an entire skeleton from Whitestone River in the Yukon Territory
In July, 2000, Spencer Trennert found a mammoth tibia on Nicholson Peninsula, N.W.T. to the southeast but still in the lee of the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula, on the Arctic coast of western Canada.(Link )
6 Mammuthus columbi in taxidermy collections
Index Name Sex Origin Age Birth Death date Arrival Present or last Location
1 ⚪ -Santa Rosa Island Mammoth- 13,000 years ago 13,000 years ago 2022-06-00 Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History 2 ⚪ -Venice Mammoth- 2021-08-00 North Alabama Dive Center 3 ♂ -Huntington Mammoth- M 11,500-9,500 years ago 11,500-9,500 years ago 1988-00-00 Utah State University Eastern Prehistoric Museum 4 ♂ -Cooperton mammoth- M 17,000 to 21,000 years ago 17,000 to 21,000 years ago 1961-00-00 Oklahoma Museum of the Great Plains 5 ♂ -Jeffersons mammoth- M ca 15 000 years ago ca 15 000 years ago 1904-00-00 American Museum of Natural History 6 ⚪ -unknown- unknown Mayborn Museum
37 Mammuthus primigenius in taxidermy collections
Index Name Sex Origin Age Birth Death date Arrival Present or last Location
1 ♀ -Nun cho ga- F between 35,000 and 40,000 years ago. between 35,000 and 40,000 years ago. 2022-06-21 Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre 2 ⚪ -Bristles Mammoth- unknown between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago 2019-04-00 University of Michigan Museum of Natural History 3 ⚪ -Fourcaud Mammoth- unknown 14,230 years ago 14,230 years ago 2010-00-00 Espéraza Dinosaur Museum 4 ♀ -Lyuba- F About 41,800 years ago About 41,800 years ago 2007-00-00 The Shemanovsky Museum-Exhibition Complex 5 ⚪ -Dima- about 41,000 years ago about 41,000 years ago 1977-00-00 Zoological Museum of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences 6 ⚪ -Kånkback Mammoth- 1975-00-00 JAMTLI Provincial Museum of Jämtland 7 ⚪ -Herttoniemi Mammoth- 1954-00-00 Finnish Museum of Natural History 8 ⚪ -Haapajärvi Mammoth- 1952-00-00 Finnish Museum of Natural History 9 ⚪ -Unnamed Mammoth- 1949-00-00 Storfinnforsen Hydroelectric Power Station 10 ⚪ -Sollefteå Mammoth- 1949-00-00 Swedish Museum of Natural History (NRM) 11 ⚪ -Lockarp Mammoth- ca 16 000 years ago ca 16 000 years ago 1939-00-00 Lund Zoological Museum 12 ⚪ -Arrie Mammoth- ca 15,900 years ago ca 15,900 years ago 1934-00-00 Lund Zoological Museum 13 ⚪ -Lohtaja Mammoth- 1930-00-00 Finnish Museum of Natural History 14 ⚪ -Tuulos Mammoth- 1923-00-00 Finnish Museum of Natural History 15 ⚪ -Espoo Mammoth- 1921-00-00 Finnish Museum of Natural History 16 ⚪ -Töölö Mammoth- 1911-00-00 Finnish Museum of Natural History 17 ⚪ -Pohja Mammoth- 1896-00-00 Zoological Museum of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences 18 ⚪ -Niederweningen Mammoth Baby- unknown 45 000 years ago 45 000 years ago 1891-00-00 Mammutmuseum Niederweningen 19 ⚪ -Nilsiä Mammoth- 1873-00-00 Finnish Museum of Natural History 20 ⚪ -Titente Mammoth- 1865-00-00 Swedish Museum of Natural History (NRM) 21 ⚪ -Sheldon Mammoth- unknown over 20,000 years ago over 20,000 years ago Sheldon Prairie Museum 22 ⚪ -Iijoki Mammoth- Swedish Museum of Natural History (NRM) 23 ♂ -Ivanovich Mammoth- M City Duma Tyumen Museum of local History 24 ⚪ -Ystad Mammoth- Swedish Museum of Natural History (NRM) 25 ⚪ -Bårslöv Mammoth- Swedish Museum of Natural History (NRM) 26 ♂ -Pilgrimstad Mammoth- M Jämtland Wargentin Gymnasium nature museum 27 ⚪ -Unknown name- Petrus Magni school museum 28 ⚪ -Unknown name- Österportgymnasium nature museum 29 ⚪ -Fairbanks Creek Mammoth- 21,300 years ago (±1,300) 21,300 years ago (±1,300) American Museum of Natural History 30 ⚪ -Unnamed Mammoth- County Museum of Västernorrland 31 ♀ -Lerdal Mammoth- F Uppsala Museum of Evolution 32 ⚪ -Bäck Mammoth- Uppsala Museum of Evolution 33 ⚪ -Scheldt Mammoth- Lund Zoological Museum 34 ⚪ -Brunkeberg Mammoth- Swedish Museum of Natural History (NRM) 35 ⚪ -Siegsdorfer Mammut- ca 45 000 years ago ca 45 000 years ago Siegsdorf Natural History and Mammoth Museum 36 ⚪ -Göttingen paralectotype Mammoth- Göttingen Zoological Museum 37 ⚪ -Leibniz Mammoth- Göttingen Zoological Museum
Films
Links
Mammuthis.com