The Columbian Mammoth, about eleven feet tall, lived in the early half of the Pleistocene period, ranging over the warmer portions of North America, including practically all of the United States and much of Mexico;
The Imperial Mammoth, reaching a height of more than thirteen feet, and becoming extinct in the Middle Pleistocene. It was a western form, remains being found from Nebraska to Mexico City.
Originally placed in the genus Elephas, the mammoths are referred to commonly as elephants, though technically they should not be regarded as such. Recent explorations and researches have added greatly to our knowledge of these animals but have also caused much confusion with regard to scientific names, for many new subdivisions of the larger group are now recognized, and it has become necessary to change some of the older nomenclature.
A Long-Jawed Mastodont (Trilophodon phippsi).
One of the Early American Proboscideans
The large mammoth exhibited by the Museum bears the impressive name of Archidiskodon meridionalis nebrascensis. Fifty years ago it might have been identified simply as a specimen of the imperial elephant and in such case would have received the old name of that species, which was Elephas imperator. But late in the last century it was proposed that the mammoths be recognized by some other name to distinguish them more sharply from living elephants. The name suggested for the new genus thus established was Archidiskodon, in recognition of the more archaic or primitive construction of the enamel plates in the mammoths molar teeth. The specific name, meridionalis, had been given to a kind of mammoth which is well known from the southern part of Europe, and the Latin name, signifying “southern,” had been applied to differentiate this species from the northern or woolly mammoth.
This mammoth, however, had disappeared from southern Europe and for many years its subsequent history remained a mystery. The late Dr. Henry Fairfield Osborn had been engaged in an extensive study of the subject, and when the nearly perfect skeleton from Angus, Nebraska, was brought to his attention he recognized it as being closely related to meridionalis, and considered it to be a record of the migration of that species into North America. Because of minor variations from the typical mammoth of southern Europe he regarded it as a variety or subspecies which had descended from the latter, and the subspecific name, nebrascensis, was added to take care of this situation, using a Latinized form of the name of the State in which the skeleton was found. With the knowledge we now have of these mammoths it becomes apparent that Archidiskodon meridionalis nebrascensis is an ancestor of the imperial mammoth, currently known as Archidiskodon imperator, and not identical with it.
This instance is typical of the manner in which prehistoric animals obtain their names. Although given a Latin form, these technical names are derived from many languages, and the root words are applied with reference to anything that happens to appeal to the author as significant. Consequently there is seldom a name of this kind which may be translated directly into natural history or science. It is a mistake to believe that these strange phrases conceal important technical information which is available only to those who are familiar with dead and foreign languages. Actually they contain nothing of the sort, and the most enlightened of the Greeks and Romans could not find it there. When a name is needed there is none better than the one provided by the specialist who is skilled in the business of naming things. Some technical ability is required, to apply the name where it properly belongs, but technical knowledge is not obtained from such sources. Names, in any form, have another purpose to serve. There is no magic in them and there need be no mystery about them.
Molar Tooth of Mammoth