One of the Pleistocene's Giants: The Southern Mammoth.

Greetings. Mammuthus meridionalis.

Occasionally referred to as the southern mammoth, M. meridionalis is an extinct species of mammoth that ranged throughout Asia and Europe during the Early Pleistocene, between 2.5 million years ago and 800,000 years ago.

Mammuthus meridionalis was a massive proboscidean, substantially larger than modern-day elephants in overall size and weight. A mature adult male known from a mostly complete skeleton displayed at Forte Spagnolo, L'Aquila, in Italy, is estimated to have stood approximately 4.05 meters tall at the shoulder in the flesh, and is estimated to have weighed 11.4 tons. Like modern-day elephants, females of the species were considerably smaller, with an estimated average adult shoulder height of 3.3 meters, and weights of approximately 7 tons being posited. 

The skull was prominently domed, though the height of the dome was lower than subsequent species of mammoth. The head represented the highest point of the animal. The body was broad and the back was noticeably sloped. It had robust, elongated twisted tusks, a common characteristic of mammoths. Its molars had low crowns and around 13 thick enamel ridges (lamellae) on the third molars, substantially lower than the number seen in later mammoth species. M. meridionalis lived in relatively warm climates, which makes it far more probable that it lacked a dense coat of hair. The species' ears are also suggested to have been medium to large in size, with the tail being shorter than living elephants but longer than later mammoth species. In a very general sense, M. meridionalis looked very much like today's elephants, except it was quite a bit larger in overall proportions.

Fossilized plants found with remains of Mammuthus meridionalis demonstrate that the species existed during a time of mild climates, generally as warm or slightly warmer than Europe currently experiences today. Some populations inhabited woodlands, which included oak, ash, beech and other familiar European trees, as well as some that are now exotic to the region, such as hemlock, wing nut and hickory. Further east, the species occupied partially open habitats with widespread grassy areas and plains. 

Dental microwear of the teeth of Mammuthus meridionalis strongly suggests that the species was a variable mixed feeder, with its diet varying according to local conditions, with some populations exhibiting browse-dominated feeding, while others were far more grass-dominant feeders. During the early part of its existence in Europe, M. meridionalis existed alongside the "tetralophodont gomphothere" Anancus arvernensis. Dietary analysis based on microwear suggests that there was an ecological niche partitioning between the two species, with M. meridonalis occupying more open habitats, while A. arvernensis lived in more heavily forested habitats. 

Juveniles of the species were likely occasionally preyed upon by the large sabertooth cat Homotherium latidens, based on isotopic analysis of specimens from the Venta Micena locality in southeast Spain.

Numerous remains of Mammuthus meridionalis have been found with cut marks and/or associated with stone tools, physical evidence of butchery by archaic humans. It is not definitively known if human predation drove the species into extinction, but if the evidence of the widespread hunting of other species of ancient elephants by prehistoric humans is any indication, then our species is directly to blame for M. meridionalis' disappearance from the Eurasian landscape. 

Thank you for your time and consideration.