Biology:African mammoth

From HandWiki
Short description: Species of mammal (fossil)

African mammoth
Temporal range: Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene
Mammuthus africanavus.JPG
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Proboscidea
Family: Elephantidae
Genus: Mammuthus
Species:
M. africanavus
Binomial name
Mammuthus africanavus
(Arambourg, 1952)
Molar from Tunisia

The African mammoth, Mammuthus africanavus (literally, "African ancestor mammoth"), is the second oldest mammoth species, having first appeared around 3 million years ago during the late Pliocene, with a last appearance around 1.65 million years ago in the early Pleistocene.[1] Its fossils have been found in Chad, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. It was relatively small and is seen as the direct ancestor of M. meriodionalis, although its tusk diverged more widely from its skull than later species of mammoth, which might indicate that it was an evolutionary dead end.[2]

References

Wikidata ☰ Q512598 entry