WOOLLY MAMMOTH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does woolly mammoth mean? 

• WOOLLY MAMMOTH (noun)
  The noun WOOLLY MAMMOTH has 1 sense:

1. very hairy mammoth common in colder portions of the northern hemisphere

  Familiarity information: WOOLLY MAMMOTH used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WOOLLY MAMMOTH (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Very hairy mammoth common in colder portions of the northern hemisphere

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

Mammuthus primigenius; northern mammoth; woolly mammoth

Hypernyms ("woolly mammoth" is a kind of...):

mammoth (any of numerous extinct elephants widely distributed in the Pleistocene; extremely large with hairy coats and long upcurved tusks)

 Context examples 

But the woolly mammoth existed until about 3,700 years ago when they finally went extinct.

(Genetic ‘Mutational Meltdown’ Doomed Woolly Mammoths, VOA)

The discovery shows the Ancient North Siberians endured extreme conditions in the region 31,000 years ago and survived by hunting woolly mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, and bison.

(DNA from 31,000-year-old milk teeth leads to discovery of new group of ancient Siberians, University of Cambridge)

It argues that some Ice Age megafauna—which in North America include the woolly mammoth, saber-toothed cat and giant sloth—used ancient Tibet as a training ground for developing adaptations that allowed them to cope with a harsh climate.

("Out of Tibet" hypothesis: Cradle of evolution for cold-adapted mammals is in Tibet, NSF)

A genetic “mutational meltdown” helped push the woolly mammoth toward extinction, according to a new study.

(Genetic ‘Mutational Meltdown’ Doomed Woolly Mammoths, VOA)

According to researchers, woolly mammoths were once very common in North America, Siberia and Beringia, which is the land bridge that used to exist between current day Russia and the U.S. state of Alaska.

(Genetic ‘Mutational Meltdown’ Doomed Woolly Mammoths, VOA)