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Mammoth Facts & Worksheets

Mammoth is any member of the extinct elephant genus Mammuthus that is found as fossils.

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Mammoth is any member of the extinct elephant genus Mammuthus that is found as fossils.

See the fact file below for more information on the Mammoth or alternatively, you can download our 23-page Mammoth worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

INTRODUCTION

  • The various species of mammoth lived from Pliocene epoch, which is around 5 million years ago, into the Holocene epoch, which is about four thousand years ago.
  • They existed in Africa, Europe, Asia, and North America.
  • They were members of the Elephantidae family which has two surviving genera, Elephas and Loxodonta.
  • The oldest representative mammoth is the South African mammoth, which appeared 5 million years ago during the early Pliocene epoch in what is now considered as southern and eastern Africa.
  • The last species of mammoth to exist is the woolly mammoth.

EVOLUTION

  • The Elephantidae family is known to have existed around six million years ago in Africa. This family consists of the current living elephants and of the mammoths.
  • Mammoths are related to mastodons, gomphotheres, stegodontids, African elephants, and Asian elephants. This relationship was established based on their hyoid bone.
  • The hyoid bone, also called the lingual bone or tongue-bone, is a horseshoe-shaped bone in the anterior midline of the neck, located between the chin and the thyroid cartilage.
  • Mammoth species are mostly identified from the number of enamel ridges on their molars.
  • As mammoth species evolved, the number of their enamel ridges increased gradually. At the same time, the crowns of their teeth became longer, and their skulls became higher from top to bottom and shorter from the back to the front.
  • Mammoths are believed to have entered Europe around 3 million years ago.
  • By the late Pleistocene period, mammoths had undergone a major physical transformation. Their cranium became shorter, mandible became higher, the number of molar hypsodonty index increased, and more.
  • Due to these physical changes, mammoths in Europe have been clustered into three (3) distinguishable clusters: (1) Mammuthus meridionalis, (2) Mammuthus trogontherii, and (3) Mammuthus primigenius.

DESCRIPTION

  • Mammoths are known to be large in size. The largest known have reached heights of about four meters or 13.1 feet with a weight of about 8 tonnes.
  • However, most known species of mammoths were only about as large as modern Asian elephants, which are about 2.5 meter to 3 meter high at the shoulder.
  • Both male and female mammoths have tusks.
  • Scientists, after studying the remains of a mammoth calf, have found out that the form of a mammoth is greatly influenced by fat and this enabled mammoths to store large amount of nutrients needed for survival.
  • The fat of mammoths also allowed them to increase the mass of their muscles which enabled them to have the capability to fight against enemies for survival.
  • Most known species of mammoths had a woolly, yellowish brown undercoat beneath a coarser outer covering of dark brown hair.
  • Their tusks were directed downwards and were very long. In older male mammoths, their tusks sometimes curved over each other.

BEHAVIOR

  • Although mammoths ate similar things, the way they fed differed depending on the species and on where they were located.
  • For the Columbian mammoths, the way they fed was mainly through grazing or by feeding off low-growing plants such as grasses or algae.
  • Based on the studies of mammoth feces and mammoth teeth, American Columbian mammoths fed primarily on cactus leaves, trees, and shrubs.
  • Mammoths have hypsodont molars, like modern elephants. Hypsodont molars are characterized by high-crowned teeth and enamel that extends far past the gum line. Hypsodont molars do not have both a crown and a neck.
  • Hypsodont molars allowed mammoths to live an expansive life because they could feed off plants, which are abundant.

EXTINCTION

  • The last known species of mammoth was the woolly mammoth. Most populations of woolly mammoth died out around the time of the last glacial retreat in North America and Eurasia.
  • The reason for extinction of mammoths is still under debate, whether they went extinct due to climatic reasons or due to overhunting by humans.

ADDITIONAL FACTS

  • The ears of woolly mammoths were shorter than the ears of modern elephants.
  • A woolly mammoth’s age can be derived from the rings of its tusk.
  • The first fully documented discovery of a woolly mammoth skeleton happened in 1799. The skeleton was brought back to the Zoological Museum of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Science in 1806.
  • According to studies, the final resting place of woolly mammoths was Wrangel Island in the Arctic.
  • One of the oldest-known musical instruments is a flute made from mammoth ivory.

Mammoth Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the mammoth across 23 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Mammoth worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the mammoth which is any member of the extinct elephant genus Mammuthus that is found as fossils.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Mammoth Facts
  • Boxes
  • Parts
  • Relationship
  • Identify!
  • Summary
  • Ivory
  • Prevent
  • Compare
  • Create
  • What Happened?

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Link will appear as Mammoth Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, June 26, 2020

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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