Mammoth

27.12.2024

Mammoth

Why in the news?                        

Researchers in Siberia are conducting tests on a juvenile mammoth whose remarkably well-preserved remains were discovered in thawing permafrost after more than 50,000 years.

About Mammoth:

• Mammoths are members of an extinct species belonging to elephantid genus Mammuthus.
• They lived from the Pliocene epoch (from around 5 million years ago) into the Holocene at about 4,000 years ago.

They existed in Africa, Europe, Asia, and North America.

Features of the Mammoth :

• The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks.
• They evolved a suite of adaptations for arctic life, including morphological traits such as small ears and tails to minimize heat loss, a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, long thick fur, and numerous sebaceous glands for insulation.
• They also had large brown-fat hump-like deposits behind the neck that may have functioned as a heat source and fat reservoir during winter.
• Mammoths are more closely related to living Asian elephants than African elephants.
• IUCN Status: Extinct

Key facts about Permafrost:

• It is any ground—from soil to sediment to rock—that has been frozen continuously for a minimum of two years and as many as hundreds of thousands of years.
• It can extend down beneath the earth’s surface from a few feet to more than a mile, covering entire regions, such as the Arctic tundra, or a single, isolated spot, such as a mountaintop of alpine permafrost.
• It can be found on land and below the ocean floor.

                                                                 Source: India Today

Consider the following statements regarding Mammoths:

Statement-I:These are extinct species which are closely related to living Asian elephants.

Statement-II:These species were only found during the Pliocene epoch.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

A.Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I.

B.Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I.

C.Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect.

D.Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct.

Answer C