Alaska: Mammuthus primigenius (state fossil)

The state fossil of Alaska is fittingly an Ice Age mammal familiar to us all, the woolly mammoth, Mammuthus primigenius. This large member of the elephant family was a grazer on lush tundra grasses and sedges during the Pleistocene Epoch, from about 1.6 million to 10,000 years ago. It entered Alaska from Siberia via the Bering Land Bridge -- a connection between North America and Asia during a time of lower sea level.

Fossils of mammoths frequently turn up in Alaska when areas of permafrost thaw or are eroded by rivers. Most often it is the tusks and molar teeth that are found, but sometimes whole or partial carcasses are preserved. As shown at right, the teeth somewhat resemble the soles of tennis shoes or a stack of Fig Newtons. Native peoples have created sculptures from the tusk ivory for many generations.

Although at times most of Alaska was covered with ice, during other periods it hosted extensive areas of lush tundra which were home to many grazing animals. The contraction of the tundra with the onset of the present interglacial, increased snowfall which accompanied the warming, and overhunting by prehistoric humans may all have contributed to the extinction of the woolly mammoth.

Because of its popularity and abundance of fossils, the woolly mammoth was named the state fossil of Alaska in 1986 with the passage of Act 44.09.120.

For further information:

The Mammoth Story

Alaska symbols