Mammoths (Mammuthus) are prehistoric beasts that roamed tundra ecosystems during the last ice age (2.6 million to 11,700 years ago), but their evolutionary history goes back farther than that. The now-extinct creatures branched off from African elephants (Loxodonta) around 6 million years ago and split from their closest known relatives, Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), about 440,000 years later.
Research suggests a small, isolated population of mammoths survived until 4,000 years ago before going extinct due a random, sudden event — although scientists still don’t know what that event could be.
There are many things we may never know about mammoths, but scientists are working to obtain a clearer picture of how and where the animals lived — and some researchers are even trying to bring them back to life. In the meantime, how much do you know about mammoths? Find out by taking this quiz.
