back to article Miniature woolly mammoths once roamed Crete

Minute woolly mammoths roamed the Greek holiday island of Crete 1 to 2 million years ago, boffins have claimed after examining fossilised teeth and a leg bone. Standing 1.13m (3ft 8") tall and weighing 130kg (20st 4lbs), the furry, curly-tusked creatures would have been about one-third the size of the full-blown mammoths who …

COMMENTS

This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Monkey Bob
    Happy

    Fantastic

    I need four of these & a kick arse dogsled. My commute will never be dull again.

  2. Code Monkey
    Windows

    Minimammoths? Minmoths?

    Come up with a name, boffins!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Minimammoths? Minmoths?

      Miniscules.

    2. Gabor Laszlo
      Trollface

      Re: Minimammoths? Minmoths?

      Minmoth is already in use:

      http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/info/donate/donation_views/fanciers.jpg

      1. Langalf
        Alert

        Re: Minimammoths? Minmoths?

        That was my first thought when I saw this article! OMG, now we know where the sparks got the breeding material for minmoths.

    3. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge

      Re: Minimammoths? Minmoths?

      Mimmoths preferably pronounced to sound like Inspector Clouseau trying to say "mammoth", has my vote

    4. Euripides Pants

      Re: Minimammoths? Minmoths?

      Saber toothed Sheepdogs!

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    Are you sure..

    they're extinct in Greece?

    I've seen Brits aboard there that fit the description of being "3ft 8" tall and weighing 20st 4lbs....."

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Anything that gets stuck on an island can be affected by dwarfism"

    So many examples, but I'll just start with two:

    The economies of Greek Islands.

    The inhabitants of Sheppey.

    Perhaps other readers can come up with further evidence.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "Anything that gets stuck on an island can be affected by dwarfism"

      An Englishmans Todger?

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Standing 1.13m (3ft 8") tall and weighing 130kg (20st 4lbs)

    Would you mind putting all measurements and weights in the US standard too as you obviously think we're all too thick to work out what the metric ones mean.

    (sarcasm)

    1. Code Monkey
      Headmaster

      Re: Standing 1.13m (3ft 8") tall and weighing 130kg (20st 4lbs)

      Of much greater relevance is that they were 8 linguini tall and weighed 31 jubs (approx).

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Standing 1.13m (3ft 8") tall and weighing 130kg (20st 4lbs)

        Or 6.99*10^4 Planck lengths and 5.97*10^9 Planck masses.

        If we are going to complain about using random, arbitrary units, let's REALLY use something fundamental!

        (cue somebody complaining about me using base 10 rather than base 2...)

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Standing 1.13m (3ft 8") tall and weighing 130kg (20st 4lbs)

          Dang it - miscopied from my terminal session on the height.

          6.99*10^34 Planck lengths.

          But still only 5 billion Planck masses - for a quantum quantity, Planck mass is huge.

  6. Ant Evans
    Big Brother

    Shetland mammoths

    Did they pay any tax?

  7. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge
    Coat

    Am I alone in reading Mammuthus creticus as Mammuthus cretinus

    Time to head home

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.”

      Perhaps not so wide of the mark after all... ;)

  8. Neil Barnes Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    Girl Genius got it right...

    Mimmoths is the only possible name, even if they are really a *touch* too large...

    btw - I'm reminded of a science fiction short story - Harry Turtledove's 'The Maltese Elephant'...

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Jumbo Shrimp?

    Mini Mammoth? Is that like Jumbo Shrimp?

  10. wobblestar

    Where are the photos? I want PICS of mini mammoths.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Mimmoths

    Ahhh, sweet... I want one, no a pair of them, to take for walkies in Regents' Park. Can't they clone those instead of the big ones that nobody would be able to keep properly.

  12. Purlieu

    Erm

    What's the point of going to Crete

This topic is closed for new posts.