Mammuthus meridionalis

Mammuthus meridionalis, or the southern mammoth, is an extinct species of mammoth endemic to Europe and central Asia from the Gelasian stage of the Early Pleistocene, living from 2.5–1.5 mya.

Description

With a shoulder height of about 4 metres (13 ft) and an estimated weight of 8–10 tonnes (8.8–11.0 short tons), M. meridionalis is one of the largest proboscideans to have ever lived, along with other larger species of mammoth, and the earlier Deinotherium. Another estimate gives a shoulder height of 3.97 metres (13.0 ft) and a weight of 10.7 tonnes (11.8 short tons). It had robust twisted tusks, common of mammoths. Its molars had low crowns and a small number of thick enamel ridges, adapted to a woodland diet of leaves and shrubs; this indicates it lived on a relatively warm climate, which makes it more probable that it lacked dense fur.

Habitat and diet

Plant and fossils found with the remains show that M. meridionalis was living in a time of mild climate, generally as warm or slightly warmer than Europe experiences today. Deciduous mixed wood provided its habitat and food, which compromised mostly of tree-browse: oak, ash, beech and other familiar European trees, as well as some that are now exotic to the region, such as hemlock, wing nut and hickory. Completes skeletons are in Stavropol State Museum, in Russia, and in L'Aquila National Museum, in Italy. Further east, discoveries at Ubeidiya (Israel) and Dmanisi (Georgia) show the early mammoth living in a partially open habitat with grassy areas, though subsisting on scattered trees and shrubs.

Telmatobius rimac

Telmatobius rimac is a species of frog in the Telmatobiidae family. It is endemic to Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, rivers, arable land, pastureland, and canals and ditches.

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