Comet Might Not Have Killed Mammoths After All: Study

New tests suggest humans aren't to blame for extinction of prehistoric pachyderms

(NEWSER) - British scientists believe climate change did more than spear-wielding humans to wipe out the woolly mammoth in Europe, the Guardian reports. New tests have revealed that the mammoths roamed northern Europe until 14,000 years ago, much later than had been thought. Researchers believe the animals died out as the warming post-Ice Age climate slowly turned the grasslands they thrived in into forests. More»

(NEWSER) - A nearly perfectly preserved 37,000-year-old baby mammoth is giving up tantalizing secrets about her species, scientists report. The creature, dubbed Lyuba by researchers, still sports clumps of hair and eyelashes, according to the Telegraph. Scientists have been able to examine stomach contents and the mineral makeup of the bones and teeth in the animal, found 2 years ago by reindeer herders in Siberia. More»

Adult mammoth the size of modern-day baby elephant

(NEWSER) - A "mini-mammoth" the size of a baby elephant has been identified on the island of Crete. Mammuthus creticus is the tiniest mammoth ever found, and is another example of "dwarfism" on islands, where scare resources can keep animals small, notes the Telegraph . Fossilized teeth of the three-foot-tall mammoth were first discovered in 1904, but were initially believed to be elephant teeth. Scientists only recently re-examined them and determined they were evidence of a miniature mammoth. They also returned to the spot in Crete and discovered a mini leg bone. More»

Giant cache of Ice Age fossils unearthed from under city park

(NEWSER) - Workers digging up an underground Los Angeles parking garage have unearthed the biggest cache of fossils from the last Ice Age ever discovered, including a nearly intact mammoth skeleton, reports the Los Angeles Times. Researchers have lifted huge chunks of earth from the site adjacent to the La Brea tar pits, and believe the find will give the most complete picture yet of Pleistocene life. More»

DNA samples still exist for many extinct megafauna

(NEWSER) - Now that scientists have the woolly mammoth’s genome, the possibility of resurrecting the giant creatures—and other impressive species from our planet’s past—is a bit closer. Which megafauna would you bring back? New Scientist lists its favorites:

• Sabre-toothed tiger. This massive cat with huge fangs would surely be an impressive, and terrifying, sight.
• Short-faced bear. This behemoth is a third taller than the polar bear when standing upright.