Mammuthus africanavus
| African mammoth Temporal range: Early Pliocene | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| 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 among the oldest of mammoth species, having first appeared around 3 million years ago during the late Pliocene. 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.[1]
References
- ↑ Lister, Adrian; Bahn, Paul (2007). Mammoths: giants of the ice age. Frances Lincoln. p. 23.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, August 21, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.