Ultra-Rare Complete Female Southern Mammoth Tusk (Mammuthus meridionalis) – An Exceptional 2-Million-Year-Old Early Pleistocene Specimen Exhibiting an Gentle Curve and Rich, Permineralized Espresso Patina Mammuthus meridionalis, commonly known as the southern mammoth, was a massive extinct proboscidean that inhabited temperate woodlands and open grassy environments across Eurasia during the Early Pleistocene epoch, roughly 2.5 to 0.8 million years ago. Standing up to 4 meters (13 feet) tall at the shoulder and weighing between 10 and 11 tonnes, adult males of this species dwarfed modern African elephants, making M. meridionalis one of the largest land mammals of its era. Unlike its iconic descendant, the thick-coated woolly mammoth (M. primigenius), the southern mammoth lived in a milder climate and likely lacked heavy fur, closer resembling modern Asian elephants in skin coverage. Anatomically, it possessed long, spirally curved tusks and low-crowned molars with relatively broad enamel ridges; these teeth reveal that it was a versatile mixed feeder consuming tree leaves, shrubs, and meadow vegetation rather than a strict grazer. As an early European representative of the Mammuthus genus, M. meridionalis forms a vital evolutionary bridge between primitive African mammoths (M. rumanus) and the later, highly specialized steppe mammoth (M. trogontherii), eventually disappearing around 800,000 years ago as global climates cooled and open steppe habitats began to dominate the continent. Tusks of Mammuthus meridionalis are extremely rare because they date back approximagtely 1.6 to 2.5 million years, lacking the protective permafrost that preserved later Woolly Mammoth remains. Exposed to warmer Eurasian environments, these massive ivory structures suffered millions of years of weathering, water table shifts, and bacterial decay, causing their fragile dentine layers to crack and disintegrate long before intact fossilization could occur. This piece has been stabilized to display the best patina, color and cross section as a scientific subject or an artistic display. Don't missed. Does not come with holder. Will be packed most securely in the best interest of the buyer.