Fun Animals Wiki, Videos, Pictures, Stories: Mammoth

Friday, March 28, 2014

The last of the woolly mammoths may have suffered serious birth defects, say scientists

Fossils of mammoths found near the North Sea and dating to the late Pleistocene, about 12,000 years ago, frequently sported extra ribs along their neck vertebrae. Though harmless on their own, these cervical ribs are often signs of development gone awry. A 2006 study of extra cervical ribs in humans published in the journal Evolution found that about 78 percent of fetuses with cervical ribs die before birth; 86 percent of fetuses that develop with these extra ribs won't make it to their first birthday.

The mammoth rib study began with the discovery of three neck vertebrae in the North Sea during a construction project in the Rotterdam Harbor. Two out of the three vertebrae showed signs that ribs had once been attached: smooth surfaces where bones once joined and a lack of normal openings for blood vessels and nerves. [Image Gallery: Stunning Mammoth Bones Unearthed]

Source: Here

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Woolly Mammoth

One of the most loveable animated films that drew millions in the box office is Ice Age, a movie that showed a group of animals living through funny situations through the ice age. One of the central members of the group is a woolly mammoth named Manny.

Woolly mammoths, also known as Mammuthus primigenius or tundra mammoth, were one of the more common species of mammoths, giant, hairy elephants that walked the earth thousands of years ago. This animal was discovered through frozen carcasses and bones across northern Eurasia and North America. Some have even reported discovering woolly mammoth bones as far as northern China. The best of the preserved bodies is the frozen remains of a baby mammoth, discovered in Siberia. Many of our ancestors also recorded interactions with mammoths through their cave drawings.

Unlike other prehistoric animals that studied only through fossils, it has been easier for scientists to know more about the woolly mammoth—this is because of their natural habitat. These giant creatures lived in very cold areas of the world, and cold temperatures naturally preserve their bodies making it much simpler for researchers and scientists to exhume their bodies and study them under better conditions. Because of their very thick and long fur, woolly mammoths could easily live in areas that have very low temperatures.

Woolly mammoths can grow to a full size of 10 feet in height and can weigh as much as a ton. Like elephants, they travel and live in herds. They often ate leaves off tress such as birch trees and other vegetation around the area. Ancient man would hunt these animals down for their precious meat, with their tusks and bones also used to create weapons such as spear tips.