page_title: Mammuthus meridionalis
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Mammuthus meridionalis / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Size comparison of mammoth species. M. primigenius (3.4 m), M. exilis (1.8 m), M. columbi, M. trogontherii, and M. meridionalis (4 m). Español: Comparación de tamaños de las especies de mamut Русский: Сравнительные размеры видов мамонтов
context_page_description: Mammuthus meridionalis, or the southern mammoth, is an extinct species of mammoth native to Europe and Central Asia from the Gelasian stage of the Early Pleistocene, living from 2.5–0.8 mya.
context_section_description: With a shoulder height of about 4 m (13.1 ft) and an estimated weight of 10 tonnes (11 short tons), M. meridionalis is one of the largest proboscideans to have ever lived, along with other larger species of mammoth, and the earlier Deinotherium. Another estimate gives a shoulder height of 3.97 m (13.0 ft) and a weight of 10.7 tonnes (11.8 short tons). Cranium fossils of the M. meridionalis found in Italy show the length of the skull to be 1.25 - 1.54 meters long, with tusk lengths of 72 - 85 centimetres. It had robust twisted tusks, common of mammoths. Its molars had low crowns and a small number of thick enamel ridges, adapted to a woodland diet of leaves and shrubs; this indicates it lived on a relatively warm climate, which makes it more probable that it lacked dense fur.
caption: Size (grey) compared to a human and other mammoths
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