Page 8 - Woolly Mammoth
P. 8

fossil finds                                                                                                                      animal gallery



                 WE CAN GET A GOOD IDEA OF WHAT ANCIENT ANIMALS MAY HAVE LOOKED                                                                                           All of these animals appear in the story.
              LIKE FROM THEIR FOSSILS. FOSSILS ARE FORMED WHEN THE HARD PARTS OF AN

                     ANIMAL OR PLANT BECOME BURIED AND THEN TURN TO ROCK OVER
                                                   MILLIONS OF YEARS.

                    oolly mammoth fossils                              ome mammoths have

           Whave been found from North Sbeen found deep frozen in                                                                                                 mountain hare                                          golden eagle
                                                                                                                                                                     Lepus timidus                                       Aquila chrysaetos
           America to China and even under                       permafrost with mummified flesh,                                                             Length: 26 inches (66 cm)                              Wingspan: 7.8 ft (2.4 m)

           the North Sea (which was dry land                     skin, fur, and even the contents of                                                  A typical hare adapted to harsh polar and          A majestic bird of prey with massive talons. It is
                                                                                                                                                              tundra habitats. Still living.                 the most widespread modern-day eagle.
           during the coldest ice ages).                         their stomachs.
           Mammoth remains were sought by
                                                                 “Dima” is a
           ancient people long before today’s                    seven-month-
                                                                 old frozen
                          paleontologists. The
                                                                 mammoth who
                  fossilized ivory “tusks”                       was found in Siberia.

                         were valued

                         by them.




                                                                                                                                                                    scimitar cat                                          Neanderthal
                                                                                                                                                                     Homotherium                                     Homo neanderthalensis
                                                                                                                                                                 Length: 5.5 ft (1.7 m)                             Height: up to 5.5 ft (1.7 m)
                                                                                                                                                      A lion-sized cat that ran and hunted like a          A type of early human that made fire, stone
                 uring the last two ice ages,                                                                                                       cheetah and had two extra-large canine teeth.            tools, and hunted. They became extinct
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     about 40,000 years ago.
           Dwoolly mammoths co-existed
           with Neanderthals and Cro-

           Magnon humans. We know this

           from finding bones that show cuts,
           or butchering marks, at human

           sites. Early humans also depicted

           mammoths in cave art and on
                                                                                                                                                     woolly rhinoceros                           musk ox                              cave lion
           small stone carvings. In Siberia                          “Oscar” is                                                                      Coelodonta antiquitatis                 Ovibos moschatus                    Panthera leo spelaea
                                                                     the largest
           they used mammoth bones, tusks,                                                                                                         Length: 10–12.5 ft (3–3.8 m)         Length: 4.4–8.2ft (1.3–2.5 m)             Length: 7 ft (2.1 m)
                                                                     fossil woolly                                                               Similar to today’s African rhino       A large-headed oxen with a         One of the largest lions that ever
           and skins to build shelters.                              mammoth.
                                                                                                                                                  but it was adapted to the cold.        heavy coat that still exists.     lived. May have been patterned.


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