Mammoth

Mammoths were extinct elephants in the genus Mammuthus that lived from the Pliocene into the Holocene.

Mammoths were extinct elephants in the genus Mammuthus that lived from the Pliocene into the Holocene, ranging across Africa, Europe, Asia and North America. Several species were adapted to cold environments, such as the woolly mammoth, while the last populations survived on isolated Arctic islands after most had disappeared at the end of the Ice Age. Mammoth fossils and Ice Age remains are relevant to Canadian palaeontology, especially in northern Canada where glacial and periglacial deposits preserve evidence of Pleistocene megafauna.

Evolution and range

Mammoths first appeared in Africa in the early Pliocene and later dispersed into Eurasia and North America. Fossils have been found across Africa, Europe, Asia and North America.

Species and adaptations

The genus included multiple species, some living in warmer regions and others adapted to cold climates. Northern species such as the woolly mammoth had long hair and other features associated with cold environments.

Extinction

Most mammoths vanished near the end of the Pleistocene, but some small populations persisted into the Holocene on remote islands. Extinction is generally linked to climate change, shrinking habitats and human hunting pressure.

Relationship with humans

Mammoths overlapped with humans for much of the late Ice Age. Humans used mammoth bones and tusks for tools and art, and mammoths appear frequently in Ice Age archaeology and palaeontology.