Ep #85 Mammoth Tusks, Gomphothere Shovels and Elephant Trunks with Advait Jukar

Ep #85 Mammoth Tusks, Elephant Trunks, and Gomphothere shovels with Advait Jukar

LINKS

Advait Jukar’s page at the Florida Museum
Advait Jukar is a vertebrate paleontologist who specializes in proboscideans, the group that includes elephants, mammoths, and gomphotheres. His page highlights research on fossil elephants from South Asia and beyond, museum work, and field projects that connect deep time to living species.

Woolly mice with Mammoth genes
This report covers a lab experiment that inserted mammoth like genes into mice as a step toward studying cold adaptation. It introduces the de extinction goals of Colossal Biosciences and raises questions about practicality and ethics.

Humuhumunukunukuapua`a! The State fish of Hawaii
Meet the reef triggerfish with the unforgettable name. This short piece celebrates Hawaii’s state fish, its colorful looks, and its life on Pacific reefs where form and function are anything but boring.

Global Surface Temperature data
A clear overview of how Earth’s surface temperature has changed through time. The page summarizes instrumental records, proxies, and trends that frame ice ages, interglacials, and today’s rapid warming.

Eritherium - The first Elephant
Eritherium is among the earliest known proboscideans from the Paleocene Eocene transition in Morocco. Small and tuskless, it shows what elephant ancestors looked like long before mammoths roamed the ice.

Evolution of the Elephant
A readable tour of elephant evolution from tiny early proboscideans to modern giants. It explains tooth and trunk changes, shifting habitats, and the long journey from Africa to the rest of the world.

The Hyrax and the Elephant
Hyraxes may look like marmots, yet they are close living relatives of elephants and manatees. This piece walks through Afrotheria and the surprising anatomical links that tie these odd cousins together.

The Creodonts - Miocene Predator
Creodonts were early carnivorous mammals that flourished before modern carnivores took over. Think bone crushing jaws, long limbs, and ecosystems in flux during the Paleogene as predators experimented with new designs.

The elongated nose of the Dik Dik
Dik diks are tiny antelopes with an elongated snout that helps cool air and enhance smell. This entry explores their desert life, monogamous pairs, and the remarkable noses that steal the show.

The Tapir - not an elephant but with an elephant-like mini trunk
Tapirs are rainforest browsers with a flexible snout that works like a small trunk. Learn how this living relic navigates rivers and forest floors while hinting at the deep history of proboscis evolution.

Evolution lines of Elephants
A simple guide to the many branches of the elephant family tree. Follow gomphotheres, mastodons, and true elephants across continents as teeth, tusks, and trunks evolve through time.

A Dentist’s dream - Mammoth Molars
Why are mammoth teeth so massive and ridged. This explainer shows how those enamel plates were perfect for grinding tough grasses in Ice Age steppe habitats.

Mammuthus Rumanus - A Eurasian Mammoth
An early member of the mammoth lineage from the Pliocene of Europe and Asia. The page outlines its age, finds, and how it fits between ancient proboscideans and the later woolly mammoth.

Mastodon as a “Nipple” tooth
Why the name mastodon. This lively read explains the nipple like cusps on mastodon molars and how those teeth reveal a browsing lifestyle very different from grazing mammoths.

Thomas Jefferson secret reason for the Lewis & Clark Expedition
Jefferson loved American megafauna and hoped the West held living giants. This story explores mastodon mania, national pride, and how fossils shaped a young nation’s imagination.

Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery
A quick reference on the expedition that mapped the American West. It covers the crew, goals, science, and the river by river push that changed the map and the natural history collections of the era.

From Mammoth to Refrigerator, Native American vocabulary
A fascinating look at historical vocabulary lists compiled by explorers and scholars. It traces words from mammoth to modern tech and what these lists reveal about contact, culture, and knowledge exchange.

Big Bone Lick Fossil site
Salt springs drew Ice Age mammals to this Kentucky site, leaving a rich fossil record of mastodons, mammoths, and bison. Big Bone Lick also links to early American science and the story of Jefferson era paleontology.

The Gray Fossil site in Tennessee
A note on celebrated fossil localities of the eastern United States. Explore how sites with ancient lakes and springs can trap animals and preserve entire communities for paleontologists to study.

The massive Konobelodon Gomphothere
Konobelodon was a four tusked proboscidean with shovel like lower tusks. This overview covers its size, geography, and what its teeth and jaws say about feeding.

Gomphotheres - the Shovel Tuskers!
Gomphotheres were widespread proboscideans with varied tusk shapes and diets. Learn how they spread into the Americas and why their shovels made them stand out from true elephants and mastodons.

The Mammoth Mosh pit in South Dakota
A prehistoric sinkhole near Hot Springs trapped dozens of mammoths over centuries. The Mammoth Site is an active dig where visitors can watch scientists uncover Ice Age giants in place.

A dinner of Frozen Mammoth Meat
The famous Explorers Club dinner was long rumored to have served mammoth. Ancient DNA sleuthing suggests the meat was actually turtle, a twisty tale of science, myth, and menus.

Natural refrigerator, the Anomalous Expansion of Water
Water is densest at about four degrees Celsius. This quirk keeps lakes from freezing solid and creates a natural layering effect that acts like a refrigerator in winter.

News feature on Advait’s Paper about India’s Oldest Butcher site
A news feature on stone marked bones that push back evidence for butchery in India. It explores dating, tools, and what the finds say about early humans on the subcontinent.

Cerutti Kill site, 100,000 years ago? Maybe?
The Cerutti Mastodon site in California claims very early human activity based on broken bones and stones. It remains controversial, which makes it a great case study in how scientific debates unfold.

Yukon, Canada Bluefish caves kill site
Bluefish Caves is a key North American site with possible evidence of humans earlier than once thought. The discussion centers on cut marks, dating, and the peopling of the Americas.

Colossal: the company behind the De-Extinction projects
Colossal Biosciences aims to revive lost traits in living species to restore ancient functions. Read about goals for mammoth like elephants, the thylacine, and the dodo, plus conservation promises and critiques.

Trump Administration cuts funding to National Parks
An opinion piece on proposed federal workforce cuts and what reduced staffing could mean for the National Park Service. It highlights impacts on research, maintenance, and public access.

Columbian Mammoth named after Christopher Columbus
The Columbian mammoth was a huge grassland grazer across North America. Learn how it differs from the woolly mammoth and why its fossils are so common in the lower forty eight.

MUSIC
Taxi by the Amish Robots
I’m Afraid by Whiskey Class
Foggy Friday by Ray Troll