serious queston. serious answers please. any and all info apreciated
2006-10-12 13:36:56 · 4 answers · asked by houdini 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
Mastodon has long straight tusks that reached five meters in length whereas mammoth tusks were curved. Mastodon had mastoid teeth that were blunt and conical, thus the name mastodon. Mammoths tended to inhabit northern areas of the Northern Hemisphere whereas mastodons were forest dwellers. Mastodons had longer and flater skulls and their skeletons were more robust and heavy than that of mammoth.
Actually the wikipedia doesn't say that if you take the time to read it. It says the woolly mammoth and African and Asian elephants had a common ancestor, there was a split millions of years ago, and they went extinct. The wikipedia is more reliable than a website pulled out of a hat.
2006-10-12 13:43:23 · answer #1 · answered by Professor Armitage 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I did some checking too, and be VERY careful. Wikipedia (not checked by experts) will teel you that there is a difference: the masotodon not related to the elephant of today, while the mammoth is related. All other sources have teh elephant, mastodon, and mammoth totally related.
Here's what I'd do... make a two-columned list , or even a Venn diagram, and note the characteristics of each (habitat, teeth/tusks, era, size, where fossils found, etc.) as you research the articles below, and you'll discover many, and often subtle, differences. Staty away from Wikipedia on this one.
http://www.universaltreasures.com/mammoth.htm
http://www.scsc.k12.ar.us/2000backeast/ENatHist/Members/SchullerL/Default.htm
http://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/hhistory/mammoth/mammothstory.html
http://www.worldbook.com/wb/Article?id=ar340960&st=mammoth
http://www.worldbook.com/wb/Article?id=ar348660&st=mastodon
2006-10-12 21:03:48 · answer #2 · answered by Snaredrum 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The mastodon was limited to North America, and I believe lived in a slightly warmer climate than the mammoth. It used to live in forests and marshy areas.
The mammoth had a thick woolly coat and was very widespread in more northerly climes. It tended to live on the northern tundras.
That completely exhausts my knowledge of the two species! :)
2006-10-12 20:43:00 · answer #3 · answered by langdonrjones 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi. The woolly mammoth had long hair or fur while the mastodon had a different tooth structure.
2006-10-12 20:40:26 · answer #4 · answered by Cirric 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋