Mammuthus subplanifrons

Mammuthus subplanifrons is the oldest representative of the genus Mammuthus, appearing around 5 million years ago during the early Pliocene in what is today South Africa and countries of East Africa, especially Ethiopia. They already presented some of the unique characteristics of mammoths like the spirally, twisting tusks. It was 3.68 metres (12.1 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighed about 9 tonnes (8.9 long tons; 9.9 short tons). In 2009, it was suggested that Loxodonta adaurora is indistinguishable from Mammuthus subplanifrons. However, other authors have continued to regard the species as distinct. Isotope analysis of specimens from South Africa suggests that M. subplanifrons was a flexible feeder.