Kingdom animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order proboscis
Family elephantidae
Gender Mammuthus
Mammoths belong to the same family as today's elephants and, like them, had ivory trunks and tusks. Extinct at the end of the last Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago, fossil and archeological records found in Europe, North America and Asia allowed us to know a little more about these animals. It is known, for example, that there were at least six species of these individuals: Mammuthus columbi, Mammuthus primigenius, Mammuthus meridionalis, Mammuthus trogontherii, Mammuthus exilis, Mammuthus imperator and Mammuthus calvanus.
Inhabitants of temperate and cold climate regions of North America, Europe and Asia, the Mammuthus had a robust body covered with hair, and fed on plants (they were herbivores). These animals were part of the diet of prehistoric individuals, the skin being used to make clothing.
A few years ago, in Siberia, a female offspring was found, in excellent condition. This discovery created conditions for many scientists to think about the possibility of creating clones of mammoths.
At the end of 2008, the sequencing of approximately 70% of the genetic code of the Mammuthus primigenius, the last of its kind to be extinguished. Those responsible for the study, scientists from Russia and the United States, used DNA samples from the fur of two mammoths also found in Siberia. They found that the genomes of elephants and mammoths are only 6% different.
By Mariana Araguaia
Graduated in Biology
Brazil School Team
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"Extinct animals" section
Extinct animals - Animals - Brazil School