Find the smallest mammoth

Researchers on May 9 said they have discovered the existence of the smallest mammoth on the island of Crete millions of years ago. This adult species is about the size of a baby elephant.

Mammoth fossils

According to the BBC, the fossil of this mammoth - named Mammuthus creticus - was discovered in the last century. However, scientists have not yet agreed that they are mammoths or ancient elephants.

Recently, the team of the London Museum of Natural History analyzed the teeth of this fossil and concluded it was closer to mammoths. They also used the fossil bone of the fossil to calculate its full size.

Two paleontologists Victoria Herridge and Adrian Lister, of the London Museum of Natural History, argue that the scarcity of food or the absence of predators on Crete has led to the emergence of Mammuthus creticus.

They estimated Mammuthus creticus to Crete about 3.5 million years ago. Its ancestors may be one of two European mammoth species: Mammuthus meridionalis and Mammuthus rumanus, extinct about 800,000 years ago.