| Mammuthus rumanus Temporal range: Late Pliocene, | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Proboscidea |
| Family: | Elephantidae |
| Genus: | † Mammuthus |
| Species: | †M. rumanus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Mammuthus rumanus Ștefănescu, 1924 | |
Mammuthus rumanus is a species of mammoth that lived during the Pliocene in Eurasia. It the oldest mammoth species known outside of Africa, [1] and probably ancestral to the subsequent species Mammuthus meridionalis .
Mammuthus rumanus is suggested to have originated in Africa. [1] Material intermediate between African mammoths and Mammuthus rumanus has been reported from Bethlehem in the Levant, dating to sometime in the Late Pliocene, around 3-4 million years ago. [2] The oldest calibrated dates for Mammuthus rumanus and mammoths outside Africa are from Romania, dating to around 3.2 million years ago. [3] Remains have been reported spanning from Britain to China. [1] It is probably ancestral to Mammuthus meridionalis. [4]
Mammuthus rumanus is only known from fragmentary remains, typically isolated teeth, with a mandible also known. The number of plates on the third molar teeth is around 8-10, consistently lower than is known in other non-African mammoth species, including M. meridionalis. [4]
Studies of specimens from Britain found that they likely consumed browse and inhabited open environments. [5] [6] In Europe, it coexisted alongside other proboscideans, including the mastodon species "Mammut" borsoni and the "tetralophodont gomphothere" Anancus arvernensis, likely niche partitioning with the latter by occupying different habitats. [5] [6]