Kingdom Animalia Order Proboscidea Genus Mammuthus Higher classification Mammoth | Phylum Chordata Family Elephantidae Scientific name Mammuthus creticus Rank Species | |
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Similar Mammoth, Elephants, Mammal, Proboscidea, Mammuthus meridionalis | ||
Mammuthus creticus, or the Cretan dwarf mammoth, is an extinct species of dwarf mammoth. With a shoulder height of about 1 m and a weight of about 180 kg, it was the smallest mammoth that ever existed.
After DNA research published in 2006, it was proposed to rename Palaeoloxodon creticus into Mammuthus creticus (Bate, 1907). Others proposed (in 2002) to rename all the described specimens of larger size under the new subspecies name Elephas antiquus creutzburgi (Kuss, 1965). In a study of 2007, it was argued for the groundlessness of the theory by Poulakakis et al. in 2006, showing the weak points of that DNA research. However, morphological data is at least equivocal, and may also support placement in Mammuthus.
Skulls of the Cretan mammoth formed the basis for the ancient Greek myth of Cyclopes.