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 The mummified carcass of the 39,000-year-old woolly mammoth nicknamed Yuka. |
The brain from the mummified woolly mammoth carcass in dorsal view.Credit: Courtesy of Anastasia Kharlamova
The most intact woolly mammoth brain was found on August 2010 in the Siberian Permafrost. The brain came from a wooly mammoth named Yuka, that was 6 to 9 years old when it died. The mammoth was kept in ice storage after being found.
A researcher named Anastasia Kharlamova wrote "Until now, there was no opportunity to examine the whole brain of a woolly mammoth, which might have had complicated behavior, similar to modern elephants,"
The size of the brain was smaller than it was originally because the cranial cavity had almost two times as much volume as the actual brain. Also scientists found that the brain structure of a woolly mammoth is similar to that of elephants because both species are part of the same family.
Yuka was the first mammoth with an intact brain, but was not the first woolly mammoth to be found, there were two woolly mammoths found in 2007 and 2009. These mammoths died many years ago, so their brains were not very well preserved.
I found this article interesting because this is the first time people have had an opportunity to observe a full brain of a woolly mammoth. After finding this brain we may be able to compare it to modern animals, which can show us how closely related the woolly mammoth is to other animals. Also this will help us to learn more about what woolly mammoths were like before they went extinct.
Article Link: http://www.livescience.com/48625-mummy-woolly-mammoth-brain-revealed.html
This is actually really cool! Scientists can now study the woolly mammoths more and also discover more about how elephants evolved into their present form. Also, this discover was important, because if it was discovered by the wrong people, it might be sold on the black market for a much higher price and many people may suffer from this. So thankfully, the scientists found the mammoth and used it for good purposes.
ReplyDeletewhen I got on I immediately saw the picture, and that got my attention, because I thought it was a sleeping puppy dog, then after that I couldn't stop reading. I then did some research on my own and found that the woolly mammoth is also thought to be related to the rat, leopard, and even the turkey! this brain could show some of the evolutionary track of many animals.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely interesting and we could learn so much about evolution from this amazing creature into the present day organisms such as the elephant. I also did research and found out that scientists think it may be possible to one day clone a mammoth or at least a hybrid between mammoth and elephant. There are a few problems though such as it being a herd animal, therefore more than one would be needed. Also, where are we going to keep this animal that would stop it from wrecking havoc on "our" world? I'm not sure if cloning one would be the best idea, but isn't the possibility a neat thought?
ReplyDeleteThe first whole woolly mammoth carcass to ever be found is quite interesting. You mentioned in your article that scientists found an intact brain, and it was similar in structure to that of an elephant. Did the scientists study the mammoth's digestive tract? If they did I think it could give us a better understanding of other animals of the same time period.
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing! I have been following a group of researchers that are attempting to recreate the mammoth by reorganize elephant genes. This new discovery can help them with this process. I am glad to see that there are always new findings on these amazing beings.
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe that a mainly intact woolly mammoth brain has been found, especially since these carcasses are so rare to find, this is only the third one and to have a intact brain too! I wonder what scientists may learn from this discovery about this single mammoth itself and the species as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI think it is fascinating how they have found an intact brain of a species, that is rarely found well preserved. Also it is interesting how they have only found 3 woolly mammoths, and out of these three only one had an intact brain.
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