Identification of the world's smallest mini mammoth | Natural History Museum

Throughout evolution when big animals lived on islands they tended to become smaller. Fossil elephant researcher, Victoria Herridge explains how, by following in the footsteps of a pioneering fossil collector, Museum scientists have identified the smallest mammoth ever known. Just over a metre high, the mini mammoth once roamed on the island of Crete. The finding sheds light on the evolution of dwarf mammoths and elephants which once lived on Mediterranean islands.

Read our news story about the discovery:
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/20...

Read our biography of Dorothea Bate:
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/sc...

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  Science & Technology

[wounduppenguin]

How old are the fossils? What geologic period did the mammoths live in?

[naturalhistorymuseum]

Hi, the age of the fossils is yet to be determined. However, the following is in our news article: "... the Cretan specimen was most similar to the species M. meridionalis that lived in Europe 2.5 million to 800,000 years ago ... But we couldn't rule out another species M. rumanus ... This means the ancestor ... could have reached Crete as long ago as 3.5 million years ... the next step is to try and find out how long ago the dwarf mammoth was living on Crete"

[wounduppenguin]

Thanks so much for the info!