Mammoths may have gone extinct much earlier than DNA suggests

Some ancient DNA may be leading paleontologists astray in attempts to date when woolly mammoths and woolly rhinos went extinct.

In 2021, an analysis of plant and animal DNA from sediment samples from the Arctic, spanning about the last 50,000 years, suggested that mammoths survived in north-central Siberia as late as about 3,900 years ago (SN: 1/11/22). That’s much later than when the youngest mammoth fossil found in continental Eurasia suggests the animals died out; it dates to about 10,700 years ago. Only on Wrangel Island off the coast of Siberia and the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea were mammoths known to have survived later.

The finding was

→ Continue reading at Science News

More from author

Related posts

Advertisment

Latest posts

It’s Near-Impossible to Snag a Reservation at This VIP-Filled Italian Restaurant — But Now It’s Dropping a Merch Line for All Red Sauce Lovers

Rao's Homemade wants its customers to be comfortable while eating comfort foods this winter.The Italian food brand is releasing a limited-edition velour tracksuit inspired...

‘If you have a face, you have a place in the conversation about AI,’ expert says

Enlarge this image Penguin Random House ...

5 Types of Professional Losses Companies Commonly Face — and How to Mitigate Each One

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. In the complex world of business, companies often face various forms of professional loss...