Elephant Evolution: Phosphatherium to Woolly Mammoth By Bob Strauss Updated May 27, 2016. Thanks to a hundred years of Hollywood movies, many people are convinced that mammoths, mastodons and other prehistoric elephants lived alongside dinosaurs. In fact, these huge, lumbering beasts evolved from the tiny, mouse-sized mammals that survived the K/T Extinction 65 million years ago, and the first mammal even remotely recognizable as a primitive elephant didn't appear until five million years after the dinosaurs went kaput. (See a gallery of prehistoric elephant pictures and a slideshow of 10 prehistoric elephants everyone should know .) That creature was Phosphatherium , a small, squat, pig-sized herbivore that popped up in Africa about 60 million years ago. Classified by paleontologists as the earliest known proboscid (an order of mammals distinguished by their long, flexible noses), Phosphatherium looked and behaved more like a pygmy hippopotamus than an early elephant. The giveaway was this creature's tooth structure: we know that the tusks of elephants evolved from incisors rather than canines, and Phosphatherium's choppers fit the evolutionary bill.

continue reading below our video 10 Facts About the Titanic That You Don't Know The two most notable proboscids after Phosphatherium were Phiomia and Moeritherium , which also lived in northern African swamps and woodlands circa 37-30 million years ago. The better known of the two, Moeritherium, sported a flexible upper lip and snout, as well as extended canines that (in light of future elephant developments) could be considered rudimentary tusks. Like a small hippo, Moeritherium spent most of its time half-submerged in swamps; its contemporary Phiomia was more elephant-like, weighing about half a ton and dining on terrestrial (rather than marine) vegetation. Yet another northern African proboscid of this time was the confusingly named Palaeomastodon , which should not be confused with the Mastodon (genus name Mammut ) that ruled the North American plains 20 million years later.

What's important about Palaeomastodon is that it was recognizably a prehistoric elephant, demonstrating that by 35 million years ago nature had pretty much settled on the basic pachyderm body plan (thick legs, long trunk, large size and tusks). Toward True Elephants: Deinotheres and Gomphotheres Twenty-five million years or so after the dinosaurs went extinct, the first proboscids appeared that could easily be discerned as prehistoric elephants. The most important of these, from an evolutionary perspective, were the gomphotheres ("bolted mammals"), but the most impressive were the deinotheres, typified by Deinotherium ("terrible mammal"). This 10-ton proboscid sported downward-curving lower tusks and was one of the largest mammals ever to roam the earth; in fact, Deinotherium may have inspired tales of "giants" in historical times, since it survived well into the Ice Age. As terrifying as Deinotherium was, though, it represented a side branch in elephant evolution.

The real action was among the gomphotheres, the odd name of which derives from their "welded," shovel-like lower tusks, which were used to dig for plants in soft, swampy ground. The signature genus, Gomphotherium , was especially widespread, stomping across the lowlands of North America, Africa and Eurasia from about 15 million to 5 million years ago. Two other gomphotheres of this era-- Amebelodon ("shovel tusk") and Platybelodon ("flat tusk")--had even more distinctive tusks, so much so that these elephants went extinct when the lakebeds and riverbeds where they dredged up food went dry. Mammoths and Mastodons - What's the Difference? Few things in natural history are as confusing as the difference between mammoths and mastodons. Even these elephants' scientific names seem designed to befuddle kids: what we know informally as the North American Mastodon goes by the genus name Mammut , while the genus name for the Woolly Mammoth is the confusingly similar Mammuthus (both names partake of the same Greek root, meaning "earth burrower").

Mastodons are the more ancient of the two, evolving from gomphotheres about 20 million years ago and persisting well into historical times. As a rule, mastodons had flatter heads than mammoths, and they were also slightly smaller and bulkier. More important, the teeth of mastodons were well-adapted to grinding the leaves of plants, whereas mammoths grazed on grass, like modern cattle. Mammoths emerged on the historical scene much later than mastodons, popping up in the fossil record about two million years ago and, like mastodons, surviving well into the last Ice Age (which, along with the hairy coat of the North American Mastodon, accounts for much of the confusion between these two elephants). Mammoths were slightly bigger and more widespread than mastodons, and had fatty humps on their necks, a much-needed source of nutrition in the harsh northern climates in which some species lived. The Woolly Mammoth , Mammuthus primigenius, is one of the best-known of all prehistoric animals, since entire specimens have been found encased in Arctic permafrost.

It's not beyond the realm of possibility that scientists will one day sequence the complete genome of the Woolly Mammoth and gestate a cloned fetus in the womb of a modern elephant! There is one important thing mammoths and mastodons shared in common: both of these prehistoric elephants managed to survive well into historical times (as late as 10,000 to 4,000 B.C.), and both were hunted to extinction by early humans. Here's a list of the most notable prehistoric elephants; just click on the links for more information. Amebelodon This "shovel-toothed" elephant thrived in flooded lowlands. Anancus This early elephant's tusks were as long as its entire body. Barytherium This ancient elephant sported eight short, stubby tusks. Cuvieronius One of the few prehistoric elephants to have lived in South America. Deinotherium One of the largest mammals ever to roam the earth. Dwarf Elephant This pint-sized proboscid went extinct 10,000 years ago. Gomphotherium One of the earliest shovel-toothed elephants. Mammut Better known as the North American mastodon.

Mammuthus The one, and only, woolly mammoth. Moeritherium This ancient elephant was about the size of a pig. Palaeomastodon One of the earliest elephant-like proboscids. Phiomia An early ancestor of modern elephants. Phosphatherium The earliest known ancestor of modern elephants. Platybelodon This prehistoric elephant came equipped with its own spork. Primelephas The immediate predecessor of the modern elephant. Stegomastodon Not quite a cross between a Stegosaurus and a mastodon. Stegotetrabelodon This elephant's footprints have been found in the Arabian peninsula. Peale's mastodon An American behemoth: Peale's mastodon In 1712, when the divine Cotton Mather provided the first scientific description of an American mastodon, the huge size of the remains attracted immediate attention on both sides of the Atlantic. Yet in a culture in which extinction was not thought possible and scriptural precepts governed scientific analysis, mastodons defied analysis. Their bones were usually identified as belonging to giant humans or, after their affinities with modern elephants were recognized, as animals that had perished in the Noachian flood.

For some observers, the long, curving tusks and the high-crowned teeth suggested that mastodons were fierce carnivores terrorizing the ante-diluvean landscape, while for others, the similarity to elephants suggested peaceful herbivory. As more and more reports of fossilized remains of mastodons filtered in from travelers and scientists visiting such exotic locales as Salt Lick, Kentucky (later renamed Big Bone Lick), the problem of interpretation steadily mounted. By the early National period, fossil proboscidians were the center of enormous popular interest, and were written about and discussed by everyone from George Washington and Benjamin Franklin to Thomas Jefferson . In this crowd, not coincidentally, these native American creatures began to acquire a new set of meanings. In 1801, a mastodon specimen was discovered near Newburgh, N.Y., and the operator of the famed Philadelphia Museum , Charles Willson Peale, was called in to assist. Peale, the polymathic "artist of the American Revolution," brought along his son, Rembrandt, to assist, and together they excavated an almost complete skeleton, illustrated here in 1801 (above right) by Rembrandt.

Lugging the bones back to Philadelphia, the Peales painstakingly mounted the specimen for display, and soon chimed in on the debate regarding the nature of mastodons, arguing that the beasts were mighty carnivores. If nothing else, the interpretation was good for business: the display became one of the most popular natural historical exhibits of the period, drawing thousands over the years. To the Peales and their friend Jefferson, however, the mastodon was far more than an exciting exhibit, it was a natural hymn for their new nation. Prior to the American Revolution, the great French natural historian, George Louis LeClerc de Buffon, had proposed that the environment in North American was so impoverished relative to that of the Old World that it could support only a weak and degenerate fauna. Buffon and his followers insisted that when subjected to North American conditions, even the largest and most robust animals would decline in stature and decrease in vigor. As native-born Americans and promoters of their new republic, Jefferson and the Peales saw little to like in such theories. In his Notes on the State of Virginia , Jefferson directed a fierce counter-attack at Buffon, using the mastodon as his centerpiece.

A bigger version of the African elephant, found all over the country from the western states to Virginia and New England, the mastodon was proof that America could and would sustain large and vigorous life forms, perhaps even larger and more vigorous than Europe. Best of all, it was clear that the mastodon was unique to North America, a symbol of the antiquity of our continent and exemplar of the new nation. Jefferson may well have had the Peales' mastodon in mind when he enjoined Lewis and Clark to scour the western landscape for mastodons, living or dead. Currently on exhibit Mammoth discovery as builders unearth first rare skull and tusks of ancient beast's relative the mastodon | Daily Mail Online comments The skull and tusks of a giant primitive elephant that died up to 2million years have been discovered by builders in Chile, it emerged today. The mastodon, around the same size as modern elephants, is thought to have roamed forests and plains before dying and sinking into a swamp that preserved it. The find, beside a river, could allow scientists to piece together more information about the DNA they share with their much bigger relative, the woolly mammoth.

Preserved: The remains of a mastodon discovered on the building site of a hydroelectric plant in Chile It could also shed more light on the origins of elephants. The discovery was made by contrustion workers building a hydroelectric power plant beside a river in Padre Hurtaldo, near the Chilean capital Santiago. Digging into the ground, they first noticed the pointed end of one of the 4ft long by 6in wide tusks. Paleontologists were called in and, after further excavation, discovered what is Chile’s first ever discovery of a complete mastodon skull. Directed by Rafael Labarca, of Chile’s PDI institute, told Chilean newspaper La Tercera: 'When we were in the excavation process we were aware that the bone continued. Intact: The discovery's is the first complete skull of the ancient creature ever made in Chile Big gnashers: The massive, crushing molar teeth that measure about 9in long 'Practically the whole skull complete and in perfect conditions, with its four molars and together with both tusks of almost four feet in length.

'In addition, inside the skull one was part of the vertebrae of the spine.' Mastodons were around the same size as modern elephants but were much more heavily muscled and had furry coats to protect them from cold. The ancestry of the elephant has long been a source of fascination for biologists. Fossil evidence shows it began in Africa around 50million to 60million years ago with moeritheres, pig-like creatures with long snouts. Brushing teeth: Paleontologist Consuelo Huidobro cleans the molars. They could provide clues about elephants Giant: How the 10ft tall mastodon may have looked next to a comparatively tall 6ft man These animals evolved into a range of other species, many of them much larger, and spread across the globe, inhabiting every continent except Australasia and Antarctica. The four-tusked trilophodon appeared 26million years ago and lasted until 2million years ago in Eurasia, Africa, and North America. Modern humans, by contrast, evolved only around 200,000 years ago.

Biggest of all was the imperial mammoth, which adapted to the cold in Eurasia, Africa, and North America during the Pleistocene epoch 2million years ago. It is believed that they are the closest relative of the elephants. Unlike, mastadons which eat shoots and leaves, mammoths were grazers. Hulking: A replica of a Mastodon skeleton towers over a group looking at it in America Close: Scientists believe the woolly mammoth, left, is the the closest ancestor of the elephant Both species appear to have survived until just a few thousand years ago and early humans would have been familiar with them. Padre Hurtado: Where the mastodon was found It is believed that the evolution and extinction of many modern elephant species may be closely tied up with the spread of the human race. Both mammoths and mastodons are proboscids, but the former is assigned to the mammutidae family, while the latter is of the eliphantitae. Most excavations of mastodons have been made in North America. Very few have been discovered in the southern part of the continent. Previously, only fragments had been found in Chile, for example.

One of the biggest finds was made in 1993 at the Diamond Valley Lake reservoir outside of Hemet, California. It yielded numerous remains and led to the site being nicknamed the "Valley of the Mastodons". Current excavations are going on annually at the Hiscock Site in Byron, New York. In July 2007, the longest mastodon tusks in the world – measuring 16ft and each weighing a ton – were discovered in Milia, north of Athens. Mastodons Mastodons The American mastodon (scientific name Mammut americanum) roamed North America from at least 3.75 million to 11,000 years ago. Mastodons, along with mammoths and modern elephants, are members of the order Proboscidea. As adults they stood between 2.5 and 3 meters (8-10 feet) at the shoulder and weighed betweeen 3500 and 5400 kilograms (4-6 tons). Mastodons became extinct approximately 11,000 years ago. Today, paleontologists are trying to understand why . Mastodon Bones Their teeth had blunt cones.

Mastodons probably used these teeth, as well as their tusks, to browse on herbs, shrubs, and trees. This drawing shows a side view and a top view of a typical upper third molar of an American mastodon. A mounted skeleton of a mastodon is on display in the Changes exhibit at the Illinois State Museum in Springfield, Illinois. The skeleton is a composite of several mastodon skeletons found during excavations at Boney Springs in central Missouri. These excavations took place in the late 1960s and early 1970s and were directed by staff from the Illinois State Museum. To see photographs of this excavations, go to our Gallery . In the picture to the right, Marion Hoffman, Jim McGregor, and Dorothy Langer are working on the nearly completed mastodon mount for the museum. The picture was taken in the fall of 1974 shortly before the mount went on exhibit. The mount has an internal armature; this means that none of the supporting structure can be seen when viewing the mastodon. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, this scene again became a familiar one at the Illinois State Museum.

This is because teams of scientists and artists under the direction of Dr. Russell W. Graham produced and assembled mastodon skeleton casts for other museums. This picture shows the mastodon skelton mount produced for the museum at Mastodon State Historic Site (Jefferson County, Missouri) by the Illinois State Museum. It is composed of polyester resin and fiberglass and is supported by an internal steel frame. The ISM has produced custom mastodon mounts for the following institutions: Pink Palace Museum (Memphis, Tennessee) Dayton Museum of Natural History (Dayton, Ohio) Museum of Arts and Sciences (Rochester, New York) Houston Museum of Natural Sciences (Houston, Texas) Grand Rapids Public Museum (Grand Rapids, Michigan) Canadian Museum of Nature (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) Mastodon Finds in the Midwestern U.S. Mastodons are a common type of fossil in the midwestern U.S.. This map shows some of the sites at which the American mastodon has been found in the midwestern United States. The sites on this map are all relatively well-dated and well-studied. These sites contain mastodon remains that are between 40,000 and 11,000 years old.

Clovis Point This is an excellent example of a Clovis projectile point. It was found at the Kimmswick Site, Jefferson County, Missouri. The point was found associated with the bones of American mastodons by a crew under the directorship of former ISM Curator of Geology Dr. Russell W. Graham. Mammoth or Mastodon: What's the Difference? Mammoth or Mastodon: What's the Difference? By Elizabeth Palermo, Associate Editor | February 27, 2013 04:28pm ET MORE These woolly mammoths were not closely related to mastodons. Credit: Mauricio Anton Mammoths and mastodons may have once roamed the Earth together, but they represent two distinct species of the Proboscidean family. And while these extinct giants have a lot in common, they also exhibit some interesting differences. Mammoths, belonging to the genus Mammuthus, arose about 5.1 million years ago in Africa, according to Ross MacPhee, Ph.D., curator at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. From Africa, the mammoths migrated throughout Eurasia and North America.

Their evolution continued over millions of years, eventually producing the woolly mammoth, M. primigenius, beginning roughly 250,000 years ago. Mammoths went extinct about 10,000 years ago, though scientists believe an isolated population of dwarf mammoths persisted on Wrangel Island off the northeastern coast of Siberia until about 3,700 years ago. Mammoths and modern elephants are closely related members of the same family (Elephantidae). And though they might resemble their distant, mammoth cousins, mastodons came into existence even earlier, about 27 million to 30 million years ago. They lived primarily in North and Central America and, like mammoths, began to disappear between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago. Some scientists believe early humans may have hunted both species to extinction , though there is considerable evidence that several factors, including climate change and variations in habitat, contributed to the disappearance of mammoths and mastodons . While similar in size and stature, fossil evidence shows that mastodons were slightly smaller than mammoths, with shorter legs and lower, flatter heads.

Both species stood between 7 and 14 feet (2 meters to 4 meters) tall, and were covered in long, shaggy hair that protected them from the harsh conditions of their respective environments. But mammoths also possessed fatty humps on their backs that provided them with the additional nutrients necessary in their more northerly, ice-covered habitats. The most important difference between these two species, according to Smithsonian.com , lies in how they ate their food. Both animals were herbivores, but mastodons had cone-shaped cusps on their molars designed to crush leaves, twigs and branches. Mammoths, however, had ridged molars that allowed them to cut through vegetation and graze like modern-day elephants. Both species had long, curved trunks that the animals may have used to scrape snow and ice off vegetation. Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience . We're also on Facebook & Google+ .

Editor's Recommendations Mastodon Bones Found in Michigan Backyard Mastodon Bones Found in Michigan Backyard January 14, 2015 Posted by Editor Two men from Michigan have unearthed the bones that belonged to a giant Ice Age creature, the distant relative of the modern-day elephant, the mastodon. The bones were right in the backyard of one of the two men. Daniel LaPoint Jr., a contractor, and Eric Witzke live in Bellevue, Michigan and were working in Witzke’s backyard when they noticed something strange poking out of the earth. When they approached it they saw that what was coming out of the earth was a very big rib bone. Over the course of two days the two men dug up the whole backyard and found 42 mastodon bones that were perfectly conserved. When they first saw the bones, the men’s first thought was that the bones were actually dinosaur bones. They were later told that the bones belonged to a 5 ton mammal that lived during the Ice Age and was the smaller relative of the wooly mammoth, both species close related to the elephant.

The men said they intend to keep only a couple of bones as souvenirs to remind them of the spectacular discovery but they will donate the rest of the mastodon bones to the Museum of Paleontology at the University of Michigan. A paleontologist from the University has examined the bones and said the animal may have been killed for food by ancient humans thousands of years ago. Daniel Fisher, the paleontology expert who examined the bones said that according to preliminary studies of the fossils indicate that the mastodon may have been slaughtered by early humans. Fisher said that after examining the bones he can say that the mastodon was approximately 37 years old and lived sometime between 10,000 and 14,000 years ago. According to experts, the mastodon lived around the time the first Paleo-Indians arrived in the Michigan area, more than 12,000 years ago. Although Fisher examined the mastodon bones, they were not taken to the museum yet. The two men who unearthed the bones wanted to show them to a middle school from their town so that the children can see and touch them.

One of the men explained that as a kid he had always wanted to touch the bones exhibited in museums but never got the chance. Woolly Mammoths, Mastodons - Crystalinks Woolly Mammoths - Mammuthus Primigenius The woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) was a species of mammoth, the common name for the extinct elephant genus Mammuthus. The woolly mammoth was one of the last in a line of mammoth species, beginning with Mammuthus subplanifrons in the early Pliocene. M. primigenius diverged from the steppe mammoth, M. trogontherii, about 200,000 years ago in eastern Asia. Its closest extant relative is the Asian elephant. The appearance and behaviour of this species are among the best studied of any prehistoric animal because of the discovery of frozen carcasses in Siberia and Alaska, as well as skeletons, teeth, stomach contents, dung, and depiction from life in prehistoric cave paintings. Mammoth remains had long been known in Asia before they became known to Europeans in the 17th century.

The origin of these remains was long a matter of debate, and often explained as being remains of legendary creatures. The mammoth was identified as an extinct species of elephant by Georges Cuvier in 1796. The woolly mammoth was roughly the same size as modern African elephants. Males reached shoulder heights between 2.7 and 3.4 m (9 and 11 ft) and weighed up to 6 tonnes (6.6 short tons). Females averaged 2.6�2.9 metres (8.5�9.5 ft) in height and weighed up to 4 tons (4.4 short tons). A newborn calf weighed about 90 kilograms (200 lb). The woolly mammoth was well adapted to the cold environment during the last ice age. It was covered in fur, with an outer covering of long guard hairs and a shorter undercoat. The color of the coat varied from dark to light. The ears and tail were short to minimize frostbite and heat loss. It had long, curved tusks and four molars, which were replaced six times during the lifetime of an individual.

Its behavior was similar to that of modern elephants, and it used its tusks and trunk for manipulating objects, fighting, and foraging. The diet of the woolly mammoth was mainly grass and sedges. Individuals could probably reach the age of 60. Its habitat was the mammoth steppe, which stretched across northern Eurasia and North America. The woolly mammoth coexisted with early humans, who used its bones and tusks for making art, tools, and dwellings, and the species was also hunted for food. It disappeared from its mainland range at the end of the Pleistocene 10,000 years ago, most likely through climate change and consequent shrinkage of its habitat, hunting by humans, or a combination of the two. Isolated populations survived on St. Paul Island until 6,400 years ago and Wrangel Island until 4,000 years ago. After its extinction, humans continued using its ivory as a raw material, a tradition that continues today. It has been proposed the species could be recreated through cloning, but this method is as yet infeasible because of the degraded state of the remaining genetic material. Read more Woolly Mammoths In the News ...

Last Alaskan woolly mammoths 'died of thirst' BBC - August 2, 2016 One of the last known groups of woolly mammoths died out because of a lack of drinking water, scientists believe. The Ice Age beasts were living on a remote island off the coast of Alaska, and scientists have dated their demise to about 5,600 years ago. The smoking gun 'proving ancient man killed woolly mammoth 45,000 years ago' Ancient Origins - June 1, 2016 When Science journal earlier this year highlighted an ancient woolly mammoth with suspected spear wounds it provoked media interest around the world. Until now, the pictures of the remarkable prehistoric 'injuries' were not widely seen outside academic circles. Today The Siberian Times is publishing the images which respected Russian scientists believe is clear proof of ancient man's attacks on a creature preserved in the permafrost. If true, the implications are enormous. It would mean, firstly, that man was present in the frozen Arctic wastes a full 10,000 years earlier than previously understood.

Yet it would also establish that early Siberians were just 2,895 miles (4,660 kilometres) from what was then a land bridge between modern Russia and Alaska. A long distance, for sure, but far from insurmountable, opening the possibility that Stone Age Siberians colonized the Americas at this early point. Mammoth DNA Study Pinpoints Key Difference From Elephants Epoch Times - July 6, 2015 A group of researchers might have successfully isolated what makes a mammoth so different from an elephant. The key was in resurrecting a mammoth gene. After all, mammoths were very similar to the modern elephant. The biggest difference - aside from all that hair - is that today's elephants tend to live in hot climates and the mammoths survived in the extreme cold.

Domestication of dogs may explain mammoth kill sites and success of early modern humans Science Daily - May 30, 2014 A new analysis of European archaeological sites containing large numbers of dead mammoths and dwellings built with mammoth bones has led to a new interpretation of these sites -- that their abrupt appearance may have been due to early modern humans working with the earliest domesticated dogs to kill the now-extinct mammoth. Neck ribs in woolly mammoths provide clues about their decline and eventual extinction PhysOrg - March 25, 2014 Mammals, even the long-necked giraffes and the short-necked dolphins, almost always have seven neck vertebrae (exceptions being sloths, manatees and dugongs), and these vertebrae do not normally possess a rib. Therefore, the presence of a 'cervical rib' (a rib attached to a cervical vertebra) is an unusual event, and is cause for further investigation. A cervical rib itself is relatively harmless, but its development often follows genetic or environmental disturbances during early embryonic development.

As a result, cervical ribs in most mammals are strongly associated with stillbirths and multiple congenital abnormalities that negatively impact the lifespan of an individual. Mini-mammoths lived on Crete: scientists PhysOrg - May 9, 2012 'The enamel rings on the Cretan tooth fossil had 3 character features that resembled mammoths, the genus Mammuthus, and, importantly, not the straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon,' says Herridge. Smallest mammoths found on Crete BBC - May 9, 2012 The smallest mammoth ever known to have existed roamed the island of Crete millions of years ago, researchers say. Adults were roughly the size of a modern baby elephant, standing over a metre tall at the shoulders. Remains were discovered more than a century ago, but scientists had debated whether the animal was a mammoth or an ancient elephant. Being Good Moms Couldn't Save the Woolly Mammoth Science Daily - December 22, 2010 New research from The University of Western Ontario leads investigators to believe that woolly mammoths living north of the Arctic Circle during the Pleistocene Epoch (approx.

150,000 to 40,000 years ago) began weaning infants up to three years later than modern day African elephants due to prolonged hours of darkness. This adapted nursing pattern could have contributed to the prehistoric elephant's eventual extinction. Climate Change Wiped Out Woolly Mammoths, Saber-Toothed Cats Live Science - May 24, 2010 Mighty swings in climate played a major role in causing mass extinctions of mammals, such as woolly mammoths and saber-toothed cats, in the last 50,000 years, researchers now suggest. Between 50,000 and 3,000 years ago, 65 percent of mammal species weighing over 97 pounds (44 kg) went extinct, together with a lesser fraction of small mammals. How Woolly Mammoths Survived Arctic Cold Live Science - May 4, 2010 The lumbering, shaggy-haired woolly mammoth once thrived in the frigid Arctic plains despite having originally migrated from a more tropical climate.

A new study has found tiny genetic mutations that changed the way oxygen was delivered by its blood could be responsible for its tolerance to the cold climate. The woolly mammoth was an elephantid species and most closely related to today's Asian elephants. It went extinct around 10,000 years ago. But because the mammoth lived in the Arctic, many remains of the species have been found preserved in the permafrost. Ancestors of both the mammoth and Asian elephant originated in Africa around 6.7 million to 7 million years ago and stayed for about 4 million years before moving up into Southern Europe and then farther up into what is now Siberia and the northern plains of Canada around a million years later. Mammoths had 'anti-freeze blood', gene study finds BBC - May 3, 2010 Scientists have discovered genetic mutations that allowed woolly mammoths to survive freezing temperatures. Nature Genetics reports that scientists "resurrected" a mammoth blood protein to come to their finding. This protein, known as haemoglobin, is found in red blood cells, where it binds to and carries oxygen.

The team found that mammoths possessed a genetic adaptation allowing their haemoglobin to release oxygen into the body even at low temperatures. The ability of haemoglobin to release oxygen to the body's tissues is generally inhibited by the cold. Mammoths Were Alive More Recently Than Thought Live Science - December 16, 2009 Woolly mammoths and other large beasts in North America may not have gone extinct as long ago as previously thought. The new view that pockets of beasts survived to as recently as 7,600 years ago, rather than the previous end times mark of 12,000 years ago is supported by DNA evidence found in a few pinches of dirt. After plucking ancient DNA from frozen soil in central Alaska, researchers uncovered "genetic fossils" of both mammoths and horses locked in permafrost samples dated to between 10,500 and 7,600 years ago. Lost Giants: Did Mammoths Vanish Before, During and After Humans Arrived?

Scientific American - December 15, 2009 Before humans arrived, the Americas were home to woolly mammoths, saber-toothed cats, giant ground sloths and other behemoths, an array of megafauna more impressive than even Africa boasts today. Researchers have advanced several theories to explain what did them in and when the event occurred. A series of discoveries announced in the past four weeks, at first glance apparently contradictory, adds fresh details to the mystery of this mass extinction. Mammoth dung unravels extinction BBC - November 19, 2009 Mammoth dung has proved to be a source of prehistoric information, helping scientists unravel the mystery of what caused the great mammals to die out. An examination of a fungus that is found in the ancient dung and preserved in lake sediments has helped build a picture of what happened to the beasts. The study sheds light on the ecological consequences of the extinction and the role that humans may have played in it.

Climate Events Let Ice Age Mammoths Pass Far Below 40 Degrees North Latitude Science Daily - October 27, 2009 Europe's southern-most skeletal remains of a mammoth were unearthed in a moor on the 37 degree N latitude. This is considerably south of the inhospitable habitat than one usually imagines for mammoths, and for the characteristically dry and cold climate that prevailed during the ice ages in the north of Eurasia. Mammoths survived late in Britain BBC - June 18, 2009 Woolly mammoths lived in Britain as recently as 14,000 years ago, according to new radiocarbon dating evidence. Dr Adrian Lister obtained new dates for mammoth bones unearthed in the English county of Shropshire in 1986. His study in the Geological Journal shows the great beasts remained part of Britain's wildlife for much longer than had previously been supposed. Mammoths may finally have died out when forests encroached on the grassland habitats they favored for grazing.

The radiocarbon results from the adult male and four juvenile mammoths from Condover, Shropshire, reveal that the great beasts were in Britain more than 6,000 years longer than had previously been thought. Mobile DNA elements in woolly mammoth genome give new clues to mammalian evolution PhysOrg - June 8, 2009 The woolly mammoth died out several thousand years ago, but the genetic material they left behind is yielding new clues about the evolution of mammals. In a study published online in Genome Research, scientists have analyzed the mammoth genome looking for mobile DNA elements, revealing new insights into how some of these elements arose in mammals and shaped the genome of an animal headed for extinction. Mammoths roasted in prehistoric barbecue pit MSNBC - June 3, 2009 Central Europe's prehistoric people would likely have been amused by today's hand-sized hamburgers and hot dogs, since archaeologists have just uncovered a 29,000 B.C. well-equipped kitchen where roasted gigantic mammoth was one of the last meals served.

The site, called Pavlov VI in the Czech Republic near the Austrian and Slovak Republic borders, provides a homespun look at the rich culture of some of Europe's first anatomically modern humans. While contemporaneous populations near this region seemed to prefer reindeer meat, the Gravettian residents of this living complex, described in the latest issue of the journal Antiquity, appeared to seek out more super-sized fare. A million-year-old mammoth skeleton found in Serbia: report PhysOrg - June 3, 2009 A woman works on an exhibit at a mammoth show. A finely preserved skeleton of a mammoth, believed to be one million years old, was uncovered near an archaeological site in eastern Serbia. The skeleton was uncovered during ongoing excavations of the site at Viminacium, a Roman military settlement on the Danube river, said archaeologist Miomir Korac. Mammoth Bones Found in San Diego Live Science - February 5, 2009 The skull and other remains from an adult mammoth, a mega-mammal that went extinct in the last Ice Age, were unearthed this week at a construction site in downtown San Diego.

The bones, including a tusk, skull and foot bones, belonged to an adult Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi), according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. The mammoth's tusk was slightly more than 10 feet (3 meters) in length. Mammoth Genome Decoded -- Clones on the Way? National Geographic - November 20, 2008 Using hairs from woolly mammoths, scientists have sequenced an extensive genome of these elephant cousins, a new report says. The development brings researchers a step closer to "resurrecting" the extinct species via cloning, though so many technical obstacles stand in the way that some experts doubt it could ever happen. Mammoth's genome pieced together BBC - November 20, 2008 A US-Russian team of researchers has pieced together most of the genome of a woolly mammoth, Nature journal reports. The experts extracted DNA from samples of mammoth hair to reconstruct the genetic sequence of this Ice Age beast. Though some stretches are missing, the researchers estimate that the genome is roughly 80% complete.

The work could provide insights into the extinction of the mammoth and also resurrects questions about the viability of cloning long-dead species. The scientists were aided in their task by the fact that several deep-frozen carcasses of woolly mammoths have been dug out of the permafrost in Siberia. These conditions are ideal for the preservation of hair, which is a preferred source for the extraction of ancient DNA. Siberian Woolly Mammoths Had North American Blood National Geographic - September 5, 2008 Siberia's last woolly mammoths descended from North American not exclusively Eurasian stock, according to new research. Scientists studying DNA from the remains of 160 of the animals found the ancient beasts migrated back and forth between Eurasia and Alaska several times over hundreds of thousands of years. Cousins of present-day elephants (learn more), woolly mammoths are believed to have descended from African mammoths that traveled north through Eurasia and grew "woolly" long hair to survive the harsh climate of Siberia.

Mammoth Mystery: The Beasts' Final Years Live Science - September 4, 2008 Woolly mammoths' last stand before extinction in Siberia wasn't made by natives - rather, the beasts had American roots, researchers have discovered. Woolly mammoths once roamed the Earth for more than a half-million years, ranging from Europe to Asia to North America. These Ice Age giants vanished from mainland Siberia by 9,000 years ago, although mammoths survived on Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean until roughly 3,700 years ago. Mammoths moved 'out of America' BBC - September 4, 2008 Scientists have discovered that the last Siberian woolly mammoths may have originated in North America. Their research in the journal Current Biology represents the largest study of ancient woolly mammoth DNA. The scientists also question the direct role of climate change in the eventual demise of these large beasts. They believe that woolly mammoths survived through the period when the ice sheets were at their maximum, while other Ice Age mammals "crashed out".

The iconic Ice Age woolly mammoth - Mammuthus primigenius - roamed through mainland Eurasia and North America until about 10,000 years ago. Previous studies had hinted that the last mammoths left in Siberia were not natives - but immigrants from North America. However, more evidence was required to strengthen the case for this "out of America" theory. France: Extremely 'Rare' mammoth skull discovered BBC - September 2, 2008 The "extremely rare" fossilized skull of a steppe mammoth has been unearthed in southern France. The discovery in the Auvergne region could shed much needed light on the evolution of these mighty beasts. Many isolated teeth of steppe mammoth have been found, but only a handful of skeletons exist; and in these surviving specimens, the skull is rarely intact. Palaeontologists Frederic Lacombat and Dick Mol describe this skull specimen as being well preserved.

Mr Lacombat, from Crozatier Museum in nearby Le Puy-en-Velay, and Mr Mol, from the Museum of Natural History in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, said the fossil belongs to a male steppe mammoth (Mammuthus trogontherii) that stood about 3.7m (12ft) tall and lived about 400,000 years ago, during Middle Pleistocene times. Woolly Mammoth Gene Study Changes Extinction Theory Science Daily - June 12, 2008 A large genetic study of the extinct woolly mammoth has revealed that the species was not one large homogenous group, as scientists previously had assumed, and that it did not have much genetic diversity. The discovery is particularly interesting because it rules out human hunting as a contributing factor, leaving climate change and disease as the most probable causes of extinction. Climate Change, Then Humans, Drove Mammoths Extinct National Geographic - April 1, 2008 Ancient climate change cornered the woolly mammoth into a shrinking habitat, but humans delivered the final blow by hunting the species into extinction, a new study suggests.

Climate change and hunting have long been blamed for forcing the mammoth into decline at the end of the Pleistocene era about 10,000 years ago. The last mammoth died out 4,000 years ago, experts estimate. But this study marks the first time that the massive, shaggy-haired animal's demise has been explained using combined population and climate change modeling, researchers say. Mammoth hair produces DNA bounty BBC - September 28, 2007 A rapid technique for isolating DNA in hair has yielded a mass of new information about woolly mammoths. An international research team says the process should work on other extinct animals, allowing their genetics to be studied in detail for the first time. The mammoth DNA was taken from the hair shaft which was long thought to be a poor source for the "life molecule". But the group tells Science magazine that the shaft's keratin material slows degradation and limits contamination. Gene reveals mammoth coat color BBC - July 6, 2006 The coat color of mammoths that roamed the Earth thousands of years ago has been determined by scientists.

Some of the curly tusked animals would have sported dark brown coats, while others had pale ginger or blond hair. The information was extracted from a 43,000-year-old woolly mammoth bone from Siberia using the latest genetic techniques. Writing in the journal Science, the researchers said a gene called Mc1r was controlling the beasts' coat colors. This gene is responsible for hair-color in some modern mammals, too. In humans, reduced activity of the Mc1r gene causes red hair, while in dogs, mice and horses it results in yellow hair. Complete mammoth skeleton found in Siberia BBC - May 23, 2006 Fishermen in Siberia have discovered the complete skeleton of a mammoth - a find which Russian experts have described as very rare. The remains appeared when flood waters receded in Russia's Krasnoyarsk region. The mammoth's backbone, skull, teeth and tusks all survived intact. It appears to have died aged about 50. Mammoths lived in Africa, Europe, Asia and North America between about 1.6 million years ago and 10,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene epoch.

Alexander Kerzhayev, deputy director of the museum in the small town of Novoselovo, says it is the most significant find he can remember. Scientists Sequence Complete Genome of Woolly Mammoth BBC - February 8, 2006 Scientists have completed the oldest mitochondrial genome sequence from the 33,000-year-old remains of a woolly mammoth; results show mammoths and Asian elephants are a sister species that diverged soon a fter their common ancestor split from the lineage of the African elephant. Woolly Mammoth Resurrection, "Jurassic Park" Planned National Geographic - April 8, 2005 A team of Japanese genetic scientists aims to bring woolly mammoths back to life and create a Jurassic Park-style refuge for resurrected species. The effort has garnered new attention as a frozen mammoth is drawing crowds at the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi, Japan. The team of scientists, which is not associated with the exhibit, wants to do more than just put a carcass on display. They aim to revive the Ice Age plant-eaters, 10,000 years after they went extinct.

Complete mammoth skull unearthed in England BBC - January 20, 2004 A complete mammoth skull has been unearthed in southern England, only the second to be found in Britain. The specimen was discovered in a gravel pit in the Cotswolds and is estimated to be about 50,000 years old. The only other complete specimen found in the UK is displayed in the Natural History Museum in London. Scientists will attempt to date the mammoth skull using radiocarbon methods and will also use it to study the evolutionary history of mammoths. The skull was found on Sunday 11 January by Dr Neville Hollingworth, a palaeontologist who works at the Natural Environment Research Council, and Dr Mark O'Dell, of science firm QinetiQ. Woolly Mammoth Study Shows Complexity of Evolution National Geographic - November 1, 2001 The woolly mammoth is the rock star of Ice Age mammals. It's been immortalized in Stone Age cave paintings and carvings and in museum displays as the quintessential Ice Age animal. How did this Ice Age icon evolve from an elephant-type species grazing in Africa to a highly specialized Arctic dweller?

Two researchers studying the fossil record of European and Siberian mammoths have traced the evolution of the woolly mammoth. The research has raised a few questions about current evolutionary theories. When mammoths roamed England BBC - November 2, 2001 A clash of the mammoths could have taken place in what is now southern England thousands of years ago. Fossils found in Buckinghamshire and Norfolk suggest that two types of mammoth lived side-by-side in prehistoric times. Scientists believe herds of more advanced mammoths moving south from Siberia encountered primitive European ones. The newcomers were better adapted to a cold climate and eventually outbred their contemporaries. But the European mammoths might have interbred with the Siberian invaders, leaving their mark in the gene pool. Mastodon Mastodons or Mastodonts (meaning "nipple-teeth") are members of the extinct genus Mammut of the order Proboscidea and form the family Mammutidae; they resembled, but were distinct from, the woolly mammoth which belongs to the family Elephantidae. Mastodons were browsers and mammoths were grazers. The American mastodon (Mammut americanum) lived in North America.

Mastodons are thought to have first appeared almost four million years ago and became extinct about 10,000 years ago, at the same time as most other Pleistocene megafauna. Though their habitat spanned a large territory, mastodons were most common in the Ice age spruce forests of the eastern United States, as well as in warmer lowland environments. Their remains have been found as far as 300 kilometers offshore in the northeastern United States, in areas that were dry land during the low sea level stand of the last ice age. There have been, however, findings of mastodon fossils in South America and also on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state. Mastodon fossils have been found in Stewiack, Nova Scotia, Canada, and also were discovered north of Fort Wayne, Indiana, resulting in the "Mastodons" being chosen as the mascot for athletic teams at Indiana-Purdue University at Fort Wayne (IPFW) by the students. The uncovered fossils are displayed inside Kettler Hall on the IPFW campus. While mastodons were furry like woolly mammoths, and similar in height at roughly three meters at the shoulder, the resemblance was superficial.

They differed from mammoths primarily in the blunt, conical shape of their teeth, which were more suited to chewing leaves than the high-crowned teeth mammoths used for grazing; the name mastodon means mastoid teeth, and is also an obsolete name for their genus. Their skulls were larger and flatter than those of mammoths, while their skeleton was stockier and more robust. Mastodons also seem to have lacked the undercoat characteristic of mammoths. The tusks of the mastodon sometimes exceeded five meters in length, and were nearly horizontal, in contrast with the more curved mammoth tusks. Young males had vestigial lower tusks that were lost in adulthood. The tusks were probably used to break branches and twigs although some evidence suggests males may have used them in mating challenges; one tusk is often shorter than the other, suggesting that, like humans, mastodons may have had laterality. Examination of fossilized tusks revealed a series of regularly spaced shallow pits on the underside of the tusks. Microscopic examination showed damage to the dentin under the pits. It is theorized that the damage was caused when the males were fighting over mating rights.

The curved shape of the tusks would have forced them downward with each blow, causing damage to the newly forming ivory at the base of the tusk. The regularity of the damage in the growth patterns of the tusks indicates that this was an annual occurrence, probably occurring during the spring and early summer. The meat of mastodons was a food source for early humans. Archaeologists are still trying to determine what role, if any, the early human settlers of North America played in the extinction of the mastodon. Recent studies by scientists in Ohio and New York concluded that tuberculosis may have been partly responsible for the extinction of the Mastodon 10,000 years ago. Read more ... Stegomastodon Skull Unearthed Live Science - June 19, 2014 Elephant Butte Lake State Park in New Mexico is named for an elephant-shaped hill on the north side of the park, but now the name seems even more appropriate after a bachelor party hiking there discovered a 3-million-year-old stegomastodon skull - the prehistoric ancestor of mammoths and elephants.

Members of the bachelor party noticed a bone sticking a couple inches out of the sand by the Rio Grande River earlier this month, the Telegraph reported. The men dug up what turned out to be an enormous skull and sent photos to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. Paleontologists who arrived on the scene identified the remains as a stegomastodon skull. Greek mastodon find 'spectacular' BBC - July 24, 2007 The remains of a prehistoric mastodon - a mammoth-like animal - have been found in northern Greece, including intact long tusks. A Dutch scientist at the site, Dick Mol, says the find near Grevena should help explain why mastodons died out in Europe two to three million years ago.

Question: The mastodon was an early relative of which modern creature?
Answer: Elephant