Rediscovered Fossil Redraws the Map of Woolly Mammoth Territory

Sometimes the greatest discoveries are actually made RepeatsDiscoveries. In Canada, for example, researchers revealed the discovery of a woolly mammoth in far northeastern North America after taking a second look at the tooth of a mammoth first discovered in 1878.

In a study published last month in Canadian Science Publishing, researchers analyzed a worn-out mammoth tooth found nearly 150 years ago on an island in Nunavut, a northern territory of Canada. The findings led the team to reclassify the tooth, previously thought to belong to a Colombian mammoth, as the remains of an older, cold-adapted woolly mammoth. Research sheds light on this individual in its final days, revealing that the woolly mammoth reached much farther east than previously thought.

Prehistoric teeth

“On the basis of appearance, we cautiously identify the tooth as the worn stump of the upper left third molar of a woolly mammoth (Primordial mammothus),” the researchers wrote in the study.

They re-examined the shape of the tooth, dated the fossil, and performed isotope analyses. Simply put, isotopes are different versions of the same element, and experts use stable isotope analysis to investigate ancient diets, among other things. Louis-Philippe Pitman, lead author of the study and a graduate student in the Department of Biology at McGill University, compares isotope analysis to “high-risk dentistry on precious fossil remains.”

Isotopic tests revealed that the mammoth consumed Ice Age plants, grasses and other plants, although it likely lived during the interglacial period (a period between ice ages devoid of large ice sheets) between 130,000 and 100,000 years ago, when the region’s temperatures were similar to today’s temperatures. Tests also showed higher-than-expected nitrogen levels, suggesting the animal may have suffered from malnutrition at the end of its life.

A peek at the mammoth

“Now that we know that woolly mammoths may have been here, it’s very tempting to go out and look for more. They can turn up in the most unexpected places!” Louis Philippe Bateman added. More broadly, the study underscores the long-term value of museum collections. “A specimen that has been preserved for nearly 150 years still contains secrets that need to be revealed,” Pittman added. “Studying them could give us insight into how organisms evolve and respond to climate change.”

In other words, museum collections have the potential to be a gift that keeps on giving. On the other hand, I don’t know why anyone would be surprised by the idea of ​​woolly mammoths roaming farther than expected. After all, Manfred (aka Manny), everyone’s favorite mammoth from the animated movie Ice age) He definitely did his best to return the human child to his family. Perhaps the owner of this tooth was on a similar mission.