Mutations may have also led to a loss of olfactory receptors, responsible for the sense of smell, as well as substances in urine involved in social status and attracting a mate. Scientists think the genetic mutations may have given the last woolly mammoths 'silky, shiny satin fur'. The last woolly mammoths to walk the Earth were so wracked with genetic disease that they lost their sense of smell, shunned company, and had a strange shiny coat. A BBC News story covering the research reported that Scientists found that DNA mutations accumulated in mammoth populations, degrading their genomes and eventually leading to their extinction. Mastodons only had one set of teeth, and there's no evidence that they wore down like mammoth teeth.Įvolution of the modern elephant. This allowed them to crush twigs, leaves and branches. The name mastodon literally means ' nipple tooth'. Mastodons had cone-shaped cusps on their molars, similar to those of a pig. The animals died of starvation when these were worn off. Also similar to the modern-day elephant, mammoths had developed six sets of enamel plates as teeth in their lifetime. Mammoths had ridged molars that allowed them to cut through vegetation, similar to modern-day elephants.

Mastodons on the other hand had a low, long skull with small ears.Īnother significant distinguishing feature between the mammoth and the mastodon was their teeth. The mammoth had a high, peaked head and large ears. At five to eight tons, and only 2.3 to 2.8 meters at the shoulder, mastodons weighed less and were shorter. Mammoths had sparse to woolly fur and a short tail, unlike the long, brown, shaggy fur of the long and hairy-tailed mastodons. Mastodons weighed between 5 to 8 tons and grew up to about 2.3 to 2.8 meters at the shoulder. Mammoths were heavier, weighing between 5.4 to 13 tons, with an adult height between 2.5 to four meters at the shoulder. This video on the exhibits of the Field Museum throws more light on the differences between these two giants of the ice age: Both were muscular, four-legged mammals with a trunk, curved tusks and a tail. Mammoths were a species of the extinct genus Mammuthus, while mastodons were a species of the extinct genus Mammut. Mammoth steppe - periglacial landscape with rich herb and grass vegetationįorest dwelling, feeding on sylvan vegetation Herbivore browsers/grazers - ate the leaves of tree leaves, shrubs, mosses, twigs, other plants Herbivore grazers – leaves, shrubs, grasses, herbs

Mastodons are an extinct group of mammal species related to elephants that inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of the Pleistocene 12,000 years ago.Īfrica, Europe, Asia migrated to North America, South America Differences - Similarities - Mammoth versus Mastodon comparison chartĪ mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus, proboscideans commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair.

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