Post #15029

hs The mammoth family also did not live to this day, but they clung to life with incredible tenacity. In a desperate attempt to survive the end of the Ice Age and human expansion, these elephants settled on Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean. But their strength was not enough: the last of the mammoths died 3,700 years ago, which is not so long ago by historical standards. After all, at this time the ancient Greeks were already forging bronze swords and silver jewelry. And the famous pyramid of Cheops has stood for more than 700 years! Island mammoths were able to survive for so long thanks to living on a secluded island. They lived in a stable and predictable environment and were able to avoid the fate of other megafauna. For a while. We still don't know what caused their death. Previously, scientists believed that genetic degradation was to blame for everything: the population size did not exceed 20 individuals, which means inbreeding was the norm for them. However, recent evidence shows that the effect of inbreeding was much weaker than expected. And the genetic load - a combination of diseases and non-functioning genes - even decreased immediately before the extinction of mammoths. So this question is open again. Stegodon: Overdone with tusks Just a million years ago, Stegodons were a fairly large family of elephants that inhabited South Asia, including even the islands. But they all, as one, faced the same problem: huge tusks! The tusks of the largest stegodons could reach a length of three meters, which was equal to the length of their body. Moreover, some of them had tusks growing so close to each other that the trunk simply did not fit between them and hung to the side. How they managed to perform basic actions with such a configuration of tusks is still a mystery. I think it was great to add a touch of paleontology to our channel. Write in the comments if you want to see articles about extinct animals more often. Единственное лицензированное Telegram-казино 🏆 ⭐️ Ежедневные раздачи до $5000 ⭐️Всегда здесь:https://t.me/game_jacknova_bot?start=ceFJNzuX1W5