The bony remains of several mammoths have been found in Great Britain. Researchers are enthusiastic about their good condition. And have a guess.
Cotswolds – They were the prehistoric elephants and significantly larger than their current descendants. But mammoths have been extinct for about 4,000 years. A spectacular find has now been made in England.
The remains of five mammoths have been discovered in the Cotswolds, the Guardian reported. The region north-west of Oxford is often referred to as the “heart of England”, here the astonishingly well-preserved bones of two adult mammoths, two young animals and an infant were found. According to initial estimates, the five animals should have lived around 200,000 years ago.
Five mammoths found in England: “One of the most important discoveries of British paleontology”
“This is one of the most important discoveries in British paleontology,” said Ben Garrod, Professor of Evolutionary Biology at the University of East Anglia, in an interview with the Observer . Finding such almost undamaged and complete bones is “extremely rare”.
“Where these mammoths lie in the ground is exactly the place where they died a quarter of a million years ago – there are also incredible things like stone tools and snails,” suggested Garrod. The scientist and British archaeologist hope for more. The researchers believe the mammoth find may just be the beginning and more remains may be found in the area.
In addition to the remains of the impressive prehistoric animals, tools that can be assigned to the Neanderthals were also found at the excavation site. The ancestors of today’s humans once hunted mammoths, the tools may have served this purpose.
Mammoths were significantly larger than today’s elephants
While today’s largest elephant species, the African elephant, can reach a shoulder height of up to four meters and a weight of up to 10 tons, the prehistoric elephants were larger and heavier. The largest subspecies of the mammoth, the steppe mammoth, could boast with a shoulder height of 4.5 meters and a weight of up to 15 tons. It is not yet clear which mammoth species the bones found from the Cotswolds are.
Even if the mammoths have been extinct for many years, US researchers want to revive the breed *. The animal species is to be brought to life by means of genetic research and released back into the wild in the near future. (kh) * tz.de and Merkur.de are offers from IPPEN.MEDIA
