Woolly Mammoth: Natural History Notebooks Home > Prehistoric Animals > Woolly Mammoth More Prehistoric Animals Woolly Mammoth Where are they found? Asia, Europe, North America Woolly mammoth, Mammuthus primigenius More Images » Woolly mammoths are symbolic of the ice age because of their large size (about 3 m high at the shoulders; 10 ft.), broad circumpolar geographic distribution, relative abundance during the last glaciation and adaptation to cold environments. A great deal is known about the appearance of these hairy elephants as a result of the discovery of several well-preserved carcasses in frozen ground in Siberia and Alaska, and from depictions in European Paleolithic cave art. The woolly mammoth had large (up to 4 m; 13 ft.), curved ivory tusks, a high domed head and sloping back. Their coats were similar to those of muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus), consisting of long (up to 90 cm; 35 in.), dark guard hairs and fine underwool. Under the coat was an insulating layer of fat up to 9 cm (3.5 in.) thick. Their cheek teeth were massive, and comprised a large series of compressed enamel plates that make excellent grinding mills for the relatively tough, dry grasses on which these animals commonly fed. These mammoths roamed the northern tundra and cool steppe grasslands of Eurasia and North America during the Late Pleistocene Epoch. One of the best Canadian specimens is a nearly complete skeleton of an adult female from Whitestone River, Yukon. It died there about 30 000 years ago, according to a radiocarbon date, and was located by following up a legend related by a native elder in the settlement of Old Crow. Woolly mammoth tracks are clearly recorded in 11 000-year-old sediments at a site near Cardston, Alberta. They yield information on both herd structure and behaviour of these extinct elephants. Woolly mammoths could not cope with the rapidly changing environment and increasing human predation toward the close of the last glaciation, and most became extinct about 11 000 years ago. However, some survived as late as 3700 years ago on Wrangel Island off the northeastern coast of Siberia. More Images Looking for photos? The Canadian Museum of Nature has thousands of unique images reflecting the diversity of the natural world—including the photos and illustrations here in our Natural History Notebooks. Contact us to learn more! http://www.nature.ca/notebooks/english/woolly.htm[3/11/2013 3:12:32 PM] About Mammoths Mammoths were first described by German scientist Johann Friedrich Blumenback in 1799. He gave the name Elephas primigenius to elephant-like bones that had been found in Europe. Both Blumenbach and Baron Georges Cuvier of France concluded, independently, that the bones belonged to an extinct species. The bones belonged to the woolly mammoth, later considered to be a distinct genus, and so renamed Mammuthus primigenius. Mammoth evolution Skeletal mount of a Columbian mammoth at The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Photo Mammoths stem from an by Dave Smith, UCMP. ancestral species called M. africanavus, the African mammoth. These mammoths lived in northern Africa and disappeared about 3 or 4 million years ago. Descendants of these mammoths moved north and eventually covered most of Eurasia. These were M. meridionalis, the “southern mammoths.” In the early Pleistocene, about 1.8 million years ago, M. meridionalis took advantage of low sea levels (during an Ice Age) and crossed into North America via a temporary land bridge across the Bering Strait. The southern mammoth then radiated throughout North America. In the Middle Pleistocene, a new North American species evolved, the imperial mammoth, M. imperator (though some question whether M. imperator is a legitimate genus). Then, in the Late Pleistocene, the Columbian mammoth, M. columbi (also known as the Jefferson mammoth, M. jeffersoni), appeared. Its range covered the present United States and as far south as Nicaragua and Honduras. Back in Eurasia, another species of mammoth, the steppe mammoth (M. trogontherii), lived from 200,000 to 135,000 years ago. And later in the Pleistocene, the woolly mammoth (M. primigenius), which incidentally was the smallest of the mammoths, made its debut. With the advent of another Ice Age and low sea levels lasting from 35,000 to 18,000 years ago, woolly mammoths were able to enter North America via a new land corridor across the Bering Strait. Woolly mammoths’ southern migration extended as far south as present-day Kansas. A restoration of a Columbian mammoth. Dwarf forms of mammoth are known from fossils found on islands: M. exilis Art © 1992 by Mark Hallett. from California’s Channel Islands stood only about four to six feet at the shoulder. Many believe that mammoths disappeared because of a change in climate, disease, hunting by humans, or perhaps some combination of these. It is still something of a mystery. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/mammoth/about_mammoths.html[3/12/2013 6:27:58 AM] About Mammoths Something to chew on If mammoths were similar to elephants in their eating habits, they were very remarkable beasts. Consider the following facts about modern elephants: Spend 16 to 18 hours a day either feeding or moving toward a source of food or water. Consume between 130 to 660 pounds (60 to 300 kg) of food each day. Drink between 16 to 40 gallons (60 to 160 l) of water per day. Produce between 310 to 400 pounds (140 to 180 kg) of dung per day. Since most mammoths were larger than modern elephants, these numbers must have been higher for mammoths! From the preserved dung of Columbian mammoths found in a Utah cave, a mammoth’s diet consisted primarily of grasses, sedges, and rushes. Just 5% included saltbush wood and fruits, cactus fragments, sagebrush wood, water birch, and blue spruce. So, though primarily a grazer, the Columbian mammoth did a bit of browsing as well. What about mastodons? The bones of fossil mammoths and mastodons can often look very similar — they are best differentiated on the basis of their teeth (compare mammoth and mastodon teeth by browsing the images at The Paleontology Portal). While mammoths had ridged molars, primarily for grazing on grasses, mastodon molars had blunt, cone- shaped cusps for browsing on trees and shrubs. Mastodons were smaller than mammoths, reaching about ten feet at the shoulder, and their tusks were straighter and more parallel. Mastodons were about the size of modern elephants, though their bodies were somewhat The American Mastodon, Mammut americanum. longer and their legs shorter. The San Diego Natural History Museum has a nice page on the American Mastodon. Back to the San Jose Mammoth page http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/mammoth/about_mammoths.html[3/12/2013 6:27:58 AM] Welcome to The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota | Columbian and Wooly Mammoth Information A National Natural Landmark contact us | site map HOME ABOUT US VISIT US PALEONTOLOGY GEOLOGY EDUCATION RESEARCH VIRTUAL MUSEUM TOUR BOOKSTORE & GIFTS SUPPORT US « Back to Mammoth Site Paleontology Mammoth Origins, Species, Heights & Weights, Teeth, and Tusk Information The Columbian Mammoth, (Mammuthus columbi) was a descendent of Mammuthus meridionalis (Mammuthus meridionalis) the ancestral mammoth that entered North America via the Bering Land Bridge about one million years ago. The Columbian mammoth ranged from Alaska, and the Yukon, across the mid-western United States south into Mexico and Central America. Huge, standing almost 14 foot at the shoulder (420 cm), and weighing 8-10 tons, the Columbian mammoth could consume about 700 pounds of vegetation a day. The life span for a Columbian mammoth was 60 to 80 years. To date, 52 Columbian mammoths have been found at the Mammoth Site. Two species of mammoths, the Columbian and woolly, were trapped in the Hot Springs Mammoth Site pond. Identified by its hairy coat and large curved tusks, the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) was a descendent of the steppe mammoth (Mammuthus trogontherii). The For even more great Paleo and Geology woolly mammoth, living south of the ice sheets, ranged from northern Europe, across information, please visit these links... Siberia, and into North America. Smaller in comparison with the Columbian mammoth, the woolly stood 11 foot at the shoulder (330 cm), and weighed 6-8 tons. Scientists believe that huge glaciers, advancing from the north and east, forced the woolly mammoths to the western area of what is now the state of South Dakota.Three woolly mammoths have been discovered in the Hot Springs sinkhole. Proboscidean Species Mammoths, mastodons, and elephants emerged from a group of mammals with developed trunks and tusks. This group, called proboscideans, is traced back to 55 million years ago. Although related, mammoths, mastodons, and elephants are from different branches of this proboscidean ancestral tree. The first mammoths developed in Africa, and soon ranged into Europe and Siberia. The ancestral mammoth, M. meridionalis, reached North America about 1.7 million years ago. Over thousands of years, adapting to the North American environment, the ancestral mammoth evolved to become the Columbian mammoth (the American mammoth). Of the four proboscidean species pictured above, only the Columbian and the woolly mammoth have been discovered at the Hot Springs Mammoth Site. Mastodon (Mammut americanum )...Shoulder Height--8-10 feet, Weight 4-6 tons Ancestral Mammoth (Mammuthus meridionalis )...Shoulder Height--13-14 feet, Weight 8-10 tons Columbian Mammoth (Mammuthus columbi )...Shoulder Height--12-14 feet, Weight 8-10 tons Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius )...Shoulder Height--9 feet, Weight 7-9 ton North American Mammoth Locations Mammoth species included: M. meridionalis (the ancestral mammoth that entered the new world 1.7 million years ago), M. columbi (the Columbian mammoth), M. primigenius (the woolly mammoth) and M. exilis (the pygmy mammoth of the California Channel Islands).