Mammoth
Mammoth | |
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Columbian mammoth in the Page Museum in Los Angeles. | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Proboscidea |
Family: | Elephantidae |
Subfamily: | Elephantinae
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Tribe: | Elephantini
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Genus: | †Mammuthus Brookes, 1828 |
Type species | |
† | |
Species | |
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Synonyms | |
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A mammoth is any
The oldest mammoth representative, Mammuthus subplanifrons, appeared around 6 million years ago during the late Miocene in what is now southern and Eastern Africa.[3] Later in the Pliocene, by about three million years ago, mammoths dispersed into Eurasia, eventually covering most of Eurasia before migrating into North America around 1.5–1.3 million years ago, becoming ancestral to the Columbian mammoth (M. columbi). The last species to emerge, the woolly mammoth (M. primigenius), evolved about 700–400,000 years ago in Siberia, with some surviving on Russia's Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean until as recently as roughly 3,700 to 4,000 years ago, still extant during the existence of the earliest civilisations in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Etymology and early observations
The word mammoth was first used in Europe during the early 17th century, when referring to maimanto tusks discovered in Siberia.
The folklore of some native peoples of Siberia, who would routinely find mammoth bones, and sometimes frozen mammoth bodies, in eroding river banks, had various interesting explanations for these finds. Among the
Thomas Jefferson, who famously had a keen interest in paleontology, is partially responsible for transforming the word mammoth from a noun describing the prehistoric elephant to an adjective describing anything of surprisingly large size. The first recorded use of the word as an adjective was in a description of a large wheel of cheese (the "Cheshire Mammoth Cheese") given to Jefferson in 1802.[8]
Evolution
The earliest known
The following
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Since many remains of each species of mammoth are known from several localities, it is possible to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the genus through morphological studies. Mammoth species can be identified from the number of enamel ridges/lamellae on their molars; the primitive species had few ridges, and the amount increased gradually as new species evolved and replaced the former ones. At the same time, the crowns of the teeth became longer, and the skulls became higher from top to bottom and shorter from the back to the front over time to accommodate this.[12]
The earliest mammoths, assigned to the species Mammuthus subplanifrons, are known from southern and eastern Africa, with the earliest records dating to the Late Miocene, around 6.2–5.3 million years ago.[3] By the Late Pliocene, mammoths had become confined to the northern portions of the African continent with remains from this time assigned to Mammuthus africanavus.[13] During the Late Pliocene, by 3.2 million years ago, mammoths dispersed into Eurasia via the Sinai Peninsula. The earliest mammoths in Eurasia are assigned to the species Mammuthus rumanus.[14] The youngest remains of mammoths in Africa are from Aïn Boucherit, Algeria dating to the Early Pleistocene, around 2.3–2 million years ago (with a possible later record from Aïn Hanech, Algeria, dating to 1.95–1.78 million years ago).[13]
Mammuthus rumanus is thought to be the ancestor of
A number of
Description
Like living elephants, mammoths typically had large body sizes. The largest known species like
Both sexes bore tusks. A first, small set appeared at about the age of six months, and these were replaced at about 18 months by the permanent set. Growth of the permanent set was at a rate of about 2.5 to 15.2 cm (1 to 6 in) per year.
The heads of mammoths were prominently domed.[26] The first several thoracic vertebrae of mammoths typically had long neural spines.[27] The back was typically sloping, with the body being wider than that of African elephants. The tails of mammoths were relatively short compared to living elephants.[28]
The number of lamellae (ridge-like structures) on the molars, particularly on the third molars, substantially increased over the course of mammoth evolution. The earliest Eurasian species M. rumanus have around 8-10 ridges on the third molars,[29] while Late Pleistocene woolly mammoths have 20-28 lamellae on the third molars. These changes also corresponded with reduced enamel thickness and increasing tooth height (hypsodonty).[17] These changes are thought to be adaptations to increased abrasion as a result of increasing adaptation of the mammoth lineage from a browsing based diet in M. rumanus, towards a grazing diet in later species.[30][31]
While early mammoth species like M. meridionalis were probably relatively hairless, similar to modern elephants,[32] M. primigenius and likely M. trogontherii had a substantial coat of fur, among other physiological adaptations for living in cold environments. Genetic sequencing of M. trogontherii-like mammoths, over 1 million years old from Siberia suggests that they had already developed many of the genetic changes found in woolly mammoths responsible for tolerance of cold conditions.[33] Scientists discovered and studied the remains of a mammoth calf, and found that fat greatly influenced its form, and enabled it to store large amounts of nutrients necessary for survival in temperatures as low as −50 °C (−58 °F).[34] The fat also allowed the mammoths to increase their muscle mass, allowing the mammoths to fight against enemies and live longer.[35] Woolly mammoths evolved a suite of adaptations for arctic life, including morphological traits such as small ears and tails to minimize heat loss, a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, and numerous sebaceous glands for insulation, as well as a large brown-fat hump like deposit behind the neck that may have functioned as a heat source and fat reservoir during winter.[36]
Based on studies of their close relatives, the modern elephants, mammoths probably had a gestation period of 22 months, resulting in a single calf being born. Their social structure was probably the same as that of African and Asian elephants, with females living in herds headed by a matriarch, whilst bulls lived solitary lives or formed loose groups after sexual maturity,[37] with adult males experiencing periods of musth.[38]
Diet
The earliest mammoth species like M. subplanifrons and M. rumanus were mixed feeders (both browsing and grazing) to browsers. Over the course of mammoth evolution in Eurasia, their diet shifted towards mixed feeding-grazing in M. trogontherii culminating in the woolly mammoth, which was largely a grazer, with stomach contents of woolly mammoths suggesting that they largely fed on grass and forbs. M. columbi is thought to have been a mixed feeder.[31]
Relationship with early humans
Evidence that humans interacted with mammoths extends back to around 1.8 million years ago, with a number of bones of Mammuthus meridionalis from the Dmanisi site in Georgia having marks suggested to the result of butchery by archaic humans, likely as a result of scavenging.[39] During the Last Glacial Period, modern humans hunted woolly mammoths,[40] used their remains to create art and tools,[41][40] and depicted them in works of art.[41] A possible engraving of M. columbi is known from Vero Beach, Florida.[42]
Extinction
Towards the end of the Last Glacial Period, the range of the woolly mammoth began to contract. By the Younger Dryas (around 12,900-11,700 years Before Present), woolly mammoths were confined to the northernmost regions of Siberia. This contraction is suggested to have been caused by the warming induced expansion of forests, which were unfavourable habitats, with the possible additional pressure of human hunting. The last woolly mammoths in mainland Siberia became extinct around 10,000 years ago, during the early Holocene.[43] Relict populations survived on Saint Paul island in the Bering Strait until around 5,600 years ago, likely due to the degradation of freshwater sources,[44] and on Wrangel Island off the coast of Northeast Siberia until around 4,000 years ago.[43] The last reliable dates of the Columbian mammoth date to around 12,500 years ago.[45] Columbian mammoths became extinct as part of the Late Pleistocene extinctions of most large mammals across the Americas approximately simultaneously at the end of the Late Pleistocene.[46] Remains of Columbian mammoths have been found at a number of sites with tools and cut marks suggesting that they were hunted by recently arrived Paleoindians, which may have been a contributory factor in their extinction.[47]
See also
- Genesis 2.0, a documentary
- Ivory trade
- La Brea tar pits
- List of mammoths
- The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota
- Niederweningen Mammoth Museum
- Pleistocene Park
- Waco Mammoth National Monument
References
- .
- ^ "Opinion 1661: Mammuthus Brookes, 1828 (Mammalia, Proboscidea): conserved, and Elephas primigenius Blumenbach, 1799 designated as the type species". Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature. 48 (3): 279–280. 1991.
- ^ S2CID 259625811.
- ISBN 978-0-520-26160-0.
- ^ John Bell, Travels from St Petersburg in Russia to diverse parts of Asia, Edinburgh, 1806, pages 383-386
- ^ Patkanov, S. (1897), Die lrtysch-Ostjaken und ihre Volkspoesie, vol. I, St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg, pp. 123–124
- Irtysh Ostyaks' belief is Patkanov 1897, pp. 123–124
- ^ Simpson, J. (2009). "Word Stories: Mammoth." Oxford English Dictionary Online, Oxford University Press. Accessed 05-JUN-2009.
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- ^ Agenbroad, L. D. (2010). ". Mammuthus exilis from the California Channel Islands: Height, Mass and Geologic Age" (PDF). Proceedings of the 7th California Islands Symposium. p. 17. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
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- ^ "Columbian Mammoth & Channel Island Mammoth". San Diego Zoo. Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
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- ^ Stuart, Anthony J. "North America: Mastodon, Ground Sloths, and Sabertooth Cats". Vanished Giants: The Lost World of the Ice Age. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. p. 97.
- PMID 19934040.
- S2CID 251042359.
Further reading
- Bahn, Paul G.; Lister, Adrian (1994). Mammoths. New York: Macmillan USA. ISBN 978-0-02-572985-8.
- Capelli, C.; MacPhee, R. D. E.; Roca, A. L.; Brisighelli, F.; Georgiadis, N.; O'Brien, S. J.; Greenwood, A. D. (2006). "A nuclear DNA phylogeny of the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 40 (2): 620–627. PMID 16631387.
- Conniff, R. (2010). "Mammoths and Mastodons: All American Monsters". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- "Mammoth genome cracked: key to cloning". COSMOS magazine. 2008. Archived from the original on 2012-03-22. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- "National Park Service Findings 'Good News' For Waco Mammoth Site". Baylor University. 2007-03-27. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- Hayes, J. (2006). "Back from the dead". COSMOS magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-03-22. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- Keddie, G. "The Mammoth Story" (PDF). Royal BC Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-12-25. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- Levy, S. (2006). "Clashing with Titans". BioScience. 56 (4): 292. .
- Martin, Paul (2005). Twilight of the mammoths: ice age extinctions and the rewilding of America. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-23141-2.
- Mercer, Henry Chapman (2010) [1885]. The Lenape Stone: Or The Indian And The Mammoth (1885). Kessinger Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-161-69753-7.
- Rodgers, J. (2006). "Mammoth skeleton found in Siberia". BBC News. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- Stone, Richard G. (2003). Mammoth: The Resurrection of an Ice Age Giant. Fourth Estate Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84115-518-0.