Animal Database

Hi Homo sapien! Welcome to Animal Database! Anyway, did you know that you're 60% genetically similar to banana trees?

READ MORE

Animal Database
Register
Advertisement
Animal Database
Cretan Dwarf Mammoth
250px-Cretanelephant-petermaas
Information
Range Crete
Scientific Classification
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Proboscidea
Family Elephantidae
Genus Mammuthus
Species M. creticus
Conservation Status
EXSpecies
Extinct

The Cretan dwarf mammoth, or Mammuthus creticus, is an extinct species of dwarf mammoth. It was the smallest mammoth that ever existed.

After DNA research, published in 2006, it was been proposed to rename Palaeoloxodon creticus into Mammuthus creticus (Bate, 1907). Others proposed (in 2002) to rename all the described specimens of larger size under the new subspecies name Elephas antiquus creutzburgi (Kuss, 1965). In a recent study of 2007, it was argued for the groundlessness of the theory by Poulakakis et al. in 2006, showing the weak points of that DNA research. However, morphological data is at least equivocal, and may also support placement in Mammuthus.

Advertisement