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The Columbian Mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) is an extinct species of elephant
Elephant

Elephants are large land mammals of the order Proboscidea and the family Elephantidae. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant and the Asian Elephant ....
 that appeared in North America (the present United States to as far south as Nicaragua and Honduras) during the late Pleistocene, It is believed by some people to be the same species as its slightly larger cousin, M. imperator, because of their similarities in fossil
Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or trace fossil of animals, plants, and other organisms from the remote past. The totality of fossils, both discovered and undiscovered, and their placement in fossiliferous Rock formations and sedimentary rock layers is known as the fossil record....
 location and size.

The Columbian Mammoth was one of the last members of the American Megafauna
Megafauna

The term megafauna has two distinct meanings in the biological sciences. The less commonly found meaning is of any animal which can be seen with the unaided eye, in contrast to microfauna....
 to become extinct, with several specimens dating to 9,000 years ago or less and one near Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the Capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County, Tennessee. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis, Tennessee....
, Tennessee
Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
, reliably dated to only about 7,800 years ago.






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Encyclopedia


The Columbian Mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) is an extinct species of elephant
Elephant

Elephants are large land mammals of the order Proboscidea and the family Elephantidae. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant and the Asian Elephant ....
 that appeared in North America (the present United States to as far south as Nicaragua and Honduras) during the late Pleistocene, It is believed by some people to be the same species as its slightly larger cousin, M. imperator, because of their similarities in fossil
Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or trace fossil of animals, plants, and other organisms from the remote past. The totality of fossils, both discovered and undiscovered, and their placement in fossiliferous Rock formations and sedimentary rock layers is known as the fossil record....
 location and size.

The Columbian Mammoth was one of the last members of the American Megafauna
Megafauna

The term megafauna has two distinct meanings in the biological sciences. The less commonly found meaning is of any animal which can be seen with the unaided eye, in contrast to microfauna....
 to become extinct, with several specimens dating to 9,000 years ago or less and one near Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the Capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County, Tennessee. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis, Tennessee....
, Tennessee
Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
, reliably dated to only about 7,800 years ago. Columbian Mammoths went extinct approximately 12,500 years ago.

Size


It was one of the largest of the mammoth
Mammoth

A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of the Elephantidae and close relatives of modern elephants....
 species and also one of the largest elephants to have ever lived, measuring tall and weighing up to . It was a herbivore
Herbivore

Herbivory is a form of predation in which an organism, known as an herbivore, heterotrophs principally autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria....
, with a diet consisting of varied plant life ranging from grass
Grass

Grass is the common word that generally describes monocotyledonous green plants. The family Poaceae are the "true grasses" and include most plants grown as grains, for pasture, and for lawns ....
es to conifers. It is also theorized that the Columbian Mammoth ate the giant fruits of North America such as the Osage-orange
Osage-orange

Osage-orange, Horse-apple or Bois D'Arc is Plant sexuality plant species, with male and female flowers on different plants. It is a small deciduous tree or large shrub, typically growing to tall....
, Kentucky coffee
Kentucky coffeetree

The Kentucky Coffeetree, Gymnocladus dioicus, is a tree in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae of the pea family Fabaceae, native to the Midwestern United States of North America....
 and Honey locust
Honey locust

The Honey locust is a deciduous tree native to eastern North America. It is mostly found in the moist soil of river valleys ranging from southeastern South Dakota to New Orleans and central Texas, and as far east as central Pennsylvania....
 as there was no other large herbivore in North America then that could ingest these fruits. Using studies of African elephants, it has been estimated that a large male would have eaten approximately of plant material daily. The average Columbian mammoth ate 300 pounds of vegetation a day.

The tusks of male Columbian mammoth extended to . Columbian mammoths were long at the shoulder, weighed 6 tons, and had a head that accounted for 12 to 25 percent of its body weight. A pair of Columbian Mammoth tusks discovered in central Texas was the largest ever found for any elephant: long.

Fossils


The remains of Columbian Mammoths were discovered in the La Brea Tar Pits
La Brea Tar Pits

The La Brea Tar Pits are a famous cluster of tar pits located in Hancock Park in the urban heart of Los Angeles, California, United States. Asphalt or tar has seeped up from the ground in this area for tens of thousands of years....
, located in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is the largest city in the U.S. state of California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles is rated as a beta global city, has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California....
, and the skeleton of one of them is on exhibit in that site's museum. The Waco Mammoth Site in Waco, TX holds the record of the largest known concentration of mammoth deaths from the same event. This mammoth also lived in Mexico, where its remains are very common. A large individual is the central exhibit in the Regional Museum of Guadalajara, in the Mexican state of Jalisco.

In 1998, the Washington State Legislature approved the Columbian Mammoth as the State Fossil.

In popular culture

A Columbian Mammoth appeared in Episode Twelve of the ITV
ITV

ITV is a public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom television network of British television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC....
 television series Primeval
Primeval

Primeval is a British science fiction television series.Primeval or prim?val may also refer to:* Primeval , a 2007 film* Primeval , a score of music from the BBC TV series Doctor Who...
. It went through an anomaly and wreaked havoc on the M25
M25

M25 or M-25 may be:* M25 motorway, a motorway that encircles London, England* M-25 , a state highway in Michigan* Miles M.25 Martinet, a 1942 target tug aircraft of the Royal Air Force...
.

See also

  • Mammoth
    Mammoth

    A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of the Elephantidae and close relatives of modern elephants....


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