Completely OT...

AndyG · Post by **AndyG** » 31 Oct 2006, 16:09

A couple of bits from the Wikipedia entry on mammoths.

"On August 14, 2006, scientists announced that they are considering possible means of bringing a hybrid species of the long-extinct woolly mammoth back from extinction. They say that sperm frozen in the testes of male mammoths may be viable and could be injected into Asian elephant eggs, which would produce a mammoth-elephant hybrid."

"a team of German, UK & American researchers were able to assemble a complete mitochondrial DNA of the mammoth, which allowed them to trace the close evolutionary relationship between mammoths and the Asian elephant. African elephants branched away from the woolly mammoth around 6 million years ago, a moment in time intriguingly close to that of the similar split between chimps and humans."

And Peter's mammoth is still there!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... rsbu_2.JPG

DanKH · Post by **DanKH** » 01 Nov 2006, 07:26

It seems though, that time has taken its toe on him as well....a bit bald on the trunk and head now it seems....

J_Eden · Post by **J_Eden** » 01 Nov 2006, 08:50

Dumb question of the year:
What is that curved thing on the end of his (I will assume its a dude) trunk? Another tusk?

James

AndyG · Post by **AndyG** » 01 Nov 2006, 09:32

J_Eden wrote:Dumb question of the year:
What is that curved thing on the end of his (I will assume its a dude) trunk? Another tusk?

James

Looks like a bit of trunk to me. The tips of elephants trunks are equipped with 'fingerlike projections', two on an African elephant, one on Asian elephants - presumably the mammoth is the same.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant#Trunk

AndyG

VEGAS · Post by **VEGAS** » 01 Nov 2006, 09:58

J_Eden wrote:Dumb question of the year:
What is that curved thing on the end of his (I will assume its a dude) trunk? Another tusk?

James

Could be a banana?!

petermcleland · Post by **petermcleland** » 01 Nov 2006, 10:46

Golly...I didn't think my OT post would create so much interest...BTW I have a small number of antique japanese carved ivories...It is interesting that the older ones were carved from Mammoth ivory brought into Japan from Siberia

Post by **Garry Russell** » 01 Nov 2006, 12:34

I think that little piece acts like our thumb to help it pick up and hold small items.

Garry