Evolution and taxonomy of Eurasian mammoths

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Abstract
Mammoths (genus Mammuthus) first appeared in continental Eurasia in the late Pliocene, about 2.5 Ma, and persisted until the end of the Pleistocene, around 10 000 years BP. Samples of mammoth fossils through the Eurasian Plio-Pleistocene show a series of anatomical trends, including changes in body size, heightening of the cranium and molar teeth, shortening of the cranium and mandible, thinning of molar enamel, and increase in the number of lamellae (enamel plates). These trends have long been known from studies of typical samples of the three main nominal chronospecies of the lineage: early Pleistocene Mammuthus meridionalis (Nesti), middle Pleistocene M. trogontheril (Pohlig), and late Pleistocene M. primigenius (Blumenbach) (Soergel 1912; Aguirre 1968, 1969b; Maglio 1973; here Fig. 19.1). New material and improved dating techniques now allow many more samples to be placed in chronological order and the evolutionary sequence examined in more detail. Further details of many of the topics summarized in this paper will be given elsewhere.

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