Similar to that of a modern elephant. Mammoths are the various species of mammals within the genus mammuthus, all of which are now extinct. The ancestors of this genus migrated from Africa about 3.5 million years ago and spread across Europe, Asia and North America. The woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), shown in this article, is not only the best known of the group but also one of the best studied prehistoric animals, due to the large amount of preserved fossils. Mammoths disappeared at the end of the last Ice Age (about 12,000 years ago), but there were still living specimens 4,000 years ago. It is worth clarifying that today’s elephants, both Asian and African, do not descend from the mammoth, but go back to common ancestors.
This article was originally published in the magazine MUNDO ESTRANHO 185 (September/2016) and won the silver medal in the Infographics category of the ÑH Prize in November of the same year.
Height – They were 2.75 to 3.4 m
Weight – From 5 to 6 tons (adults)
Life expectancy – From 60 to 80 years old
– (Márcio L. Castro)
1) FANGS AND RINGS
Both females and males used their tusks to burrow deep into the snow and fight over territory. There was also a sexual trait: males with larger, more curved tusks could mate with more females in the mating season. As with trees, the prey had, inside, rings that indicated growth – there were annual, weekly and even daily circumferences. In the early years, these weekly rings were thick, indicating wealth and health. From the 12th, however, when the males began to take care of themselves, the rings became thinner, mirroring this learning phase
– (Márcio L. Castro)
2) TRUNK
The trunk was used to remove snow from the path, break ice (to drink water), pull branches and collect various vegetables. It had two prongs – an evolutionary adaptation for harvesting Ice Age undergrowth (as opposed to today’s elephants, which wrap their trunk around tall brush)
– (Márcio L. Castro)
3) PAWS
Like elephants, mammoths had fleshy parts on their feet. Discovered fossils show that the paws had cracks, which increased friction with the ice.
4) HAIR
The mammoth had a covering with two layers of hair. Similar to human hair, the hairs ranged from blonde to dark brown tones, with lighter pigmentations being rarer.
– (Márcio L. Castro)
5) TEETH
The arcade had four molar teeth, changed five times throughout the animal’s life. With each change, the teeth got bigger and more grooved.
– (Márcio L. Castro)
6) MATING
Scientists believe that, like elephants, male mammoths periodically produced extra testosterone, which led them to fight over females. Sometimes, a male could have a mate’s preference just because he had bigger prey, without having to fight.
– (Márcio L. Castro)
7) FIGHTS
The animals headbutted to stun rivals. To show off their strength, they hooked their prey together in a game of pulling and twisting. It is also speculated that they could lift their prey to strike with the underside. The conflict could end with a broken tusk or even with one of the opponents dead.
– (Márcio L. Castro)
8) THE BEAST AND THE MAN
The humans of the time (homo sapiens like us, although Neanderthals still existed) were already able to use fire and create tools. They coexisted with the mammoths and hunted them to use the skin, meat and even the bones, to build huts. Remains of over 70 of these constructions have been found in Russia.
THE END
Two theories try to explain the extinction of the mammoths, around 12,000 years ago. But the truth can also be a combination of both.
Theory 1 – Climate change
With the melting of glaciers and the increase in humidity and temperature, the undergrowth that was convenient for mammoths gave way to coniferous forests (in the south) and tundra (in the north). These habitats were unsuitable for them to feed on, which may have caused starvation and forced populations to dwindle to an end.
Theory 2 – Predatory hunting
At that time, human technology for hunting advanced. Several mammoth fossils have been found with spear points in their bodies. It is likely that hunters slaughtered entire hordes to avoid resistance. However, as there were other food options, it is not certain that hunting was so ostensible as to eliminate the species.
– (Márcio L. Castro)
THE RESTART?
Genetic engineering can use elephant DNA to create living DNA that closely approximates that of mammoths. In this way, the animal could be cloned and «revive»
i. Chromosomes made in the laboratory from mammoth DNA are inserted into an artificial nuclear membrane
II. The nucleus of an elephant egg is removed and, in its place, the nucleus with the mammoth DNA made in the laboratory is placed.
III. The cell is then stimulated (chemically or electrically) to divide, starting the natural growth process.
IV. The egg is placed in the uterus of an elephant. If successful, pregnancy will occur and the mammoth calf will be born.
CONSULTANCY Adrian Lister, paleobiologist and leading researcher at the National History Museum in London, and Leonardo dos Santos Avilla, biologist and coordinator of the Laboratory of Mastozoology at UFRJ
SOURCES Book Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age, by Adrian Lister and Paul Bahn; websites The Guardian, national Geographic, Mental Floss, Science News, Palaeobiology Research Group, Helix, History.com and University of California Museum of Paleontology