Mammuthus meridionalis partial Neck vertebra (3413 grams)

Partial cervical vertebra bone of Mammuthus meridionalis (southern mammoth). The mammoth fossil was unearthed during gravel mining in Pest County, Hungary. The dimensions of the bone are approximately: length 63 mm, height 165 mm, width 233 mm. Weight approximately: 3413 grams + packaging. The surface of the bone is preserved with a substance called Polyvinyl Butyral 30.

"(Archidiscodon) Mammuthus meridionalis: Body size: 3.5-3.8 m Geological period: Lower Pleistocene, 2,500,000-550,000 years ago Geographical distribution: Europe (Western and Southern Europe)

This species is also called the "elephant of the south". It appears in the mammalian fauna of Europe with the Pleistocene, so it may even be a symbol of the beginning of the Quaternary. It is the earliest representative of true elephants. The appearance of this ancient elephant is reminiscent of the Indian elephant living today. Its back was almost straight, only slightly curved, while that of the African elephant living today slopes steeply from the front shoulder girdle. The tusks of the huge males bend slightly outwards at their base, then horizontally and at the same time in a lute shape towards the middle. The tusks of the females were much smaller, did not bend upwards and did not they twisted inward. Archidiscodon meridionalis was a savannah inhabitant, but it also lived in sparse scrubland and forests; it did not inhabit the grassy steppes that could be called steppes.