Fragment of a shinbone ”Mammuthus primigenius”

Pleistocene epoch, 150 000-20 000 years ago, North Sea, private collection from Netherlands.

The woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) is an extinct species of mammoth that lived during the Pleistocene until its extinction in the Holocene epoch. It was one of the last in a line of mammoth species, beginning with Mammuthus subplanifrons in the early Pliocene. The woolly mammoth began to diverge from the steppe mammoth about 800,000 years ago in East Asia. Its closest extant relative is the Asian elephant. DNA studies show that the Columbian mammoth was a hybrid between woolly mammoths and another lineage descended from steppe mammoths. The appearance and behaviour of this species are among the best studied of any prehistoric animal because of the discovery of frozen carcasses in Siberia and North America, as well as skeletons, teeth, stomach contents, dung, and depiction from life in prehistoric cave paintings. Mammoth remains had long been known in Asia before they became known to Europeans in the 17th century. The origin of these remains was long a matter of debate, and often explained as being remains of legendary creatures. The mammoth was identified as an extinct species of elephant by Georges Cuvier in 1796.

The woolly mammoth was roughly the same size as modern African elephants. Males reached shoulder heights between 2,7 and 3,4 m. and weighed up to 6 metric tons. Females reached 2,6 - 2,9 m. in shoulder heights and weighed up to 4 metric tons. A newborn calf weighed about 90 kg. The woolly mammoth was well adapted to the cold environment during the last ice age. It was covered in fur, with an outer covering of long guard hairs and a shorter undercoat. The colour of the coat varied from dark to light. The ears and tail were short to minimise frostbite and heat loss. It had long, curved tusks and four molars, which were replaced six times during the lifetime of an individual. Its behaviour was similar to that of modern elephants, and it used its tusks and trunk for manipulating objects, fighting, and foraging. The diet of the woolly mammoth was mainly grasses and sedges. Individuals could probably reach the age of 60. Its habitat was the mammoth steppe, which stretched across northern Eurasia and North America. Most of woolly mammoth populations disappeared between 16 000 and 10 000 years ago.

Gorgeous shinbone (tibia) fragment of a juvenile European Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius). Good condition. Deep dark brown color. Age-related wear, fractures, cracks and repairs. Treated with a surface-protecting varnish. Size approx. 33,0cm x 10,0cm x 7,0cm. Weight c. 2027g.

NB! This bone fragment are from North Sea, Netherlands, Europe. Legally exported from Europe and can be legally resold. This fragment was not illegally exported out of Russia (Siberia). We don’t sell, buy or distribute mammoth bones/ Ice Age fossils from Russia, and we don’t accept their illegal importation.