A mammoth is any species of the extinct
genus Mammuthus, proboscideans commonly equipped with long, curved tusks
and, in northern species, a covering of long hair.
They lived from the Pliocene epoch from
around 5 million years ago, into the Holocene at about 4,500 years ago.
And were members of the family Elephantidae, which contains, along with
mammoths, the two genera of modern elephants and their ancestors.
Description
Like their modern relatives, mammoths
were quite large. The largest known species reached heights in the
region of 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulder and weights up to 8 tonnes (9
short tons), while exceptionally large males may have exceeded 12 tonnes
(13 short tons).
However, most species of mammoth were
only about as large as a modern Asian elephant. Both sexes bore tusks. A
first, small set appeared at about the age of six months and these were
replaced at about 18 months by the permanent set.
Growth of the permanent set was at a rate
of about 1 to 6 inches (2.5 to 15 cm) per year. Based on studies of
their close relatives, the modern elephants, mammoths probably had a
gestation period of 22 months, resulting in a single calf being born.
Their social structure was probably the
same as that of African and Asian elephants, with females living in
herds headed by a matriarch, whilst bulls lived solitary lives or formed
loose groups after sexual maturity.
