Mammoth quiz: Test your knowledge of the ice age beasts

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Most of us are familiar with the mammoths in the "Ice Age" movies, but how much do you really know about these creatures? Find out by taking our science quiz.

An illustration of the steppe mammoths that preceded the woolly mammoth, based on the genetic knowledge from the Adycha mammoth.
Mammoths are iconic creatures from the last ice age, but their lineage extends farther back in time than that. (Image credit: Beth Zaiken/Center for Palaeogenetics)

Mammoths (Mammuthus) are prehistoric beasts that roamed tundra ecosystems during the last ice age (2.6 million to 11,700 years ago), but their evolutionary history goes back farther than that. The now-extinct creatures branched off from African elephants (Loxodonta) around 6 million years ago and split from their closest known relatives, Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), about 440,000 years later.

Research suggests a small, isolated population of mammoths survived until 4,000 years ago before going extinct due a random, sudden event — although scientists still don't know what that event could be.

There are many things we may never know about mammoths, but scientists are working to obtain a clearer picture of how and where the animals lived — and some researchers are even trying to bring them back to life. In the meantime, how much do you know about mammoths? Find out by taking this quiz, and if you need a hint, tap the lightbulb in the top left corner.

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Sascha Pare
Sascha Pare
Staff writer

Sascha is a U.K.-based staff writer at Live Science. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Southampton in England and a master’s degree in science communication from Imperial College London. Her work has appeared in The Guardian and the health website Zoe. Besides writing, she enjoys playing tennis, bread-making and browsing second-hand shops for hidden gems.