Analyzes show that the Colombian mammoth that inhabited North America during the last ice age was a hybrid between a woolly mammoth and a previously unknown line of mammoths. In addition, the study also provides new insights into when and how quickly mammoths adapted to cold climates. About a million years ago, there was no woolly mammoth on Earth (also known as tundra mammoth, scientific name: Mammuthus primigenius) ; or the Colombian mammoth (scientific name: Mammuthus columbi) , because they haven’t evolved yet. The ancient steppe mammoths were their ancestors. Researchers have now managed to analyze the genomes of three ancient mammoth species, using DNA recovered from mammoth teeth that had been buried for 0.7 to 1.2 million years in the permafrost layer. in Siberia. This is the first time DNA has been sequenced and authenticated from specimens that are millions of years old, and extracting DNA from these samples has been a challenge. The scientists found that only a small amount of DNA remained in the samples, and that they were broken down into very small fragments. Love Dalén, Professor of evolutionary genetics at the Center for Ancient Genetics in Stockholm, said: “This DNA is very ancient. The specimens are thousands of times older than the Viking relics, and even more predated the existence of humans and Neanderthals”. The ages of the specimens were determined using both geological data and molecular clocks. Both types of analysis show that two of the specimens are more than 1 million years old, while the third is about 700,000 years old and represents one of the earliest known woolly mammoths. come. The unexpected origin of the Colombian mammoth Genomic analysis shows that the oldest specimen, about 1.2 million years old, belongs to a previously unknown lineage of mammoth genes. The researchers call this the Krestovka mammoth, a name based on the area where it was found. The results show that the Krestovka mammoth diverged from other Siberian mammoth species more than 2 million years ago. “This came as a complete surprise to us. All previous studies have shown that there was only one species of mammoth in Siberia at that time, called the steppe mammoth. But the Our DNA analysis now shows that there are 2 different genetic lines, which we here call Mammoth Adycha and Mammoth Krestovka . We can’t say for sure yet, but we think they may represent two different species,” said Tom van der Valk, lead author of the study. Teeth of the Krestovka mammoth. Source: CPG The researchers also suggest that it was the mammoth of the Krestovka lineage that “dominated” North America about 1.5 million years ago. In addition, analyzes show that the Colombian mammoth, which lived in North America during the last ice age, was a hybrid. Nearly half of its genome comes from the Krestovka lineage and the other half from the woolly mammoth. “This is an important discovery. It seems that the Colombian mammoth, one of the most iconic species of the Ice Age in North America, evolved through a crossbreeding that took place about 420,000 years ago.” – Dong Author Patrícia Pečnerová said. Evolution and adaptation in the woolly mammoth The second million-year-old genome, from the Adycha mammoth, appears to be the ancestor of the woolly mammoth. The researchers were therefore able to compare its genome with that of one of the earliest known woolly mammoths that lived 0.7 million years ago, as well as with the genome of a mammoth. sucking only a few thousand years old. This makes it possible for scientists to investigate how mammoths adapted to life in cold environments and the extent to which this adaptation evolved during speciation. Proving how this giant animal has “risen” strongly over the past millions of years under extreme cold weather. The analyzes show that gene variants associated with life in the Arctic, such as hair growth, thermoregulation, fat accumulation, cold tolerance and circadian rhythms , appeared in the million-year-old mammoth, long before the origin of the woolly mammoth. These results indicate that most adaptations in the mammoth lineage occurred slowly and gradually over time. “Our analysis shows that most of the adaptations to cold weather were present in the ancestors of the woolly mammoth, and we found no evidence for natural selection. faster in speciation,” said co-author David Díez-del-Molino. Like their modern relatives, mammoths were quite large. The largest known species reach a height of 4 m and a weight of up to 8 tons, with some particularly large males weighing more than 12 tons. Future research The new results open the door to a host of future studies on other species. Love Dalén and co-author Patrícia Pečnerová with a mammoth tusk on Wrangel Island (Arctic Ocean). Photo: Gleb Danilov About a million years ago was a time when many species of organisms flourished across the globe. This is also a time of great changes in climate and sea levels, and the last time the Earth’s magnetic poles change positions. Therefore, the researchers think that genetic analyzes on this time scale have great potential to explore a wide range of scientific questions. “One of the big questions right now is how far back in time we can go. We haven’t reached the limit for the longest. It is expected that we can recover DNA that is two million years old, and even more so. can even go back as far as 2.6 million. Before that, there was no permafrost where ancient DNA could be preserved.” Anders Götherström, Professor of Molecular Archeology and lead researcher at the Center for Paleontology. These findings are published in the journal Nature.

Elephant Mammoth Columbia Voi Extinction time: 11,500 years ago Living area: America and Mexico Illustration. Elephant Mammoth, you probably already know. They are huge, have long fur and a pair of huge tusks. They appear in many pictures, documentaries, movies. However, here we are talking about the Columbian Mammoth elephant, which is a relative of the long-haired but larger Mammoth. A Mammoth Columbia can be from 3.7 to 4.2m tall, weighing from 5.5 to 11 tons. Their tusks average 3.7m long, the largest of the elephant family and extremely strong, used to handle any carnivores that dare to come close. Prehistoric people, of course. Lazy land Extinction time: 4200 years ago Living area: South America The sloth is a lovely, harmless creature. The Megatherium is also a sloth, but it’s not like the slow, bully sloths you’re used to seeing. Megatherium also does not live on trees, because no tree can withstand its huge body. Megatherium has several subspecies, the smallest species is as big as a rhinoceros, and the largest can weigh up to 4-5 tons when mature, equivalent to modern African elephants. They can be up to 6m tall, similar to giraffes when standing on 2 legs. In addition, they also have a set of super-large claws used to slap the mouth of any carnivore. The ground sloth finally lived peacefully on the islands of the Caribbean, until about 4200 years ago, when the “species that everyone should fear” set foot and drew an end to the sloths walking on the face. land. Orangutan Gigantopithecus Extinction time: 100,000 years ago Living area: Mainly in Southeast Asia Gigantopithecus was a close relative of modern orangutans but was much larger. They can be 3m tall, weigh up to half a ton and are the most massive primates that have ever walked the Earth. If you need a clearer picture to visualize the size of a Gigantopithecus, check out the cute giant orangutan in The Jungle Book. But that’s in the movies, who knew what such a huge beast could do to a small human? Gigantopithecus went extinct with the main cause not being human. The fact that they are large also means that they need a lot of food to survive. However, about 100,000 years before the climate changed and the forests of their homeland – Southeast Asia – became savanna, Gigantopithecus simply “flies” because there is not enough food. Cave hyena Extinction time: 11,000-13,000 years ago Living area: Europe If you often watch documentaries about wildlife in Africa, such as the Diary of the Cat Family, you are probably familiar with spotted hyenas. These guys have a lot of bad reputations. They are cunning, reckless, attack in herds, scavenge for prey of other species such as leopards and lions or even enter villages to capture children. However, spotted hyenas are still not comparable to their ancient relatives – the cave hyena. Cave hyenas were twice the size of modern spotted hyenas, weighing on average 130kg, 90cm high and 1.5m long. They have extremely strong jaws, enough to chew the bones of their prey. Calculations based on fossils show that a cave hyena can easily kill a small elephant weighing about 1 ton. But that’s not enough to say how scary they are. They still live in groups of about 30 to help hunt more effectively. However, with our ancestors, they are not easy to touch. Cave hyenas became extinct somewhere between 11,000 and 13,000 years ago. The main cause is believed by paleontologists to be that prehistoric people took the caves for shelter during the Ice Age. Sword tooth tiger Extinction time: 10,000 years ago Living area: All Americas The saber-toothed tiger sounds like that, but in fact, they don’t have a close family to the tiger. Most saber-toothed tigers became extinct before modern humans appeared. However, there are still a few that can encounter humans, such as Smilodon populator and Smilodon fatalis. In which, Smilodon fatalis is as big as an African lion, and Smilodon populator is bigger, as big as a Siberian tiger (about 350kg). According to the calculations of paleontologists, saber-toothed tigers have rather weak jaws, the bite force is only about 1/3 of that of modern lions. However, in return, they have other things. In addition to their trademark long fangs, saber-toothed tigers also have extremely muscular forelimbs, the strongest of the cat family to assist in capturing prey before slicing its throat with long scythe-like fangs. Another theory is that they can use these fangs as knives to “skewer” their prey to death. But no matter how they killed their prey, a prehistoric human would surely explode if caught by it.

The tower built by Eric Klabel has a size of 6,157m. It was so tall it could be seen from afar. Klabel has been building everything from recycled items for about 6 years now. After meeting many other record-makers around the world, Eric Klabel was inspired to make a name for himself. In addition, the 12-year-old boy is also inspired by the father himself, when deciding to use things like used popsicles to build something majestic out of it. Eric Klabel stands by the tower made from his used popsicle popsicles. At first, Eric Klabel often created many different shapes from ice cream sticks. After seeing how his childhood toys were made, Eric Klabel decided to take it one step further. In 2015, the boy Eric Klabel officially began to step further in direction by trying to build structures suitable for ice cream. The mammoth tower is an example. Talking to the Guinness World Records Organization, Eric Klabel said: “In order to create the tower, I had to build the same vertical structure over and over again, again and again. But I feel very happy because my results are getting higher and higher. ” For Eric Klabel, the proudest moment was when the boy stood back and still saw the tower he created from used ice creams stood tall and never collapsed. Eric Klabel was completely surprised to learn about his record setting. Eric Klabel told the record tally organization: “I feel fulfilled and grateful to be the owner of this Guinness World Record. I am very happy that I was able to reach this point. Love My love for reaching a world record is that I can be known from my passion “. In addition to the tower, Eric Klabel also created a rod-shaped chair, a replica of a house with lights, furniture and other important furnishings.