Mammuthus creticus

Mammuthus creticus, or the Cretan dwarf mammoth, is an extinct species of dwarf mammoth endemic to Crete during the Early Pleistocene to early Middle Pleistocene.

Discoveries
The type locality is Cape Malekas on the Akrotiri peninsula northeast of Chania, which probably dates to the Early Pleistocene or early Middle Pleistocene. Other possible remains have been reported from Koutalas Cave to the west.

Description
Mammuthus creticus is only known from fragmentary remains, including molar teeth, an incisor, a humerus, rib fragments, and a partial vertebra. With an estimated shoulder height of about 1 m and with a weight estimated at 310 kg or 180 kg, it was the smallest mammoth that ever existed. Its size reduction was the result of insular dwarfism, where the body size of large mammals on islands reduces as the result of decreased food availability, predation and competition.

Taxonomy
The species was originally described as Elephas creticus by Dorothea Bate in 1907, who noted its similarity to Elephas meridionalis (now Mammuthus meridionalis). After DNA research published in 2006, it was proposed to rename Elephas creticus into Mammuthus creticus (Bate, 1907). Others proposed (in 2002) to rename all the described specimens of larger size under the new subspecies name Elephas antiquus creutzburgi (Kuss, 1965). A 2007 study criticised the results of the 2006 DNA study, showing that the DNA research was likely flawed. However, morphological data supports a placement in ''Mammuthus.  It probably derived from Mammuthus meridionalis, or less likely, Mammuthus rumanus. ''

Ecology
Mammuthus creticus was one of only three mammal species native to Crete during the Early Pleistocene and the early Middle Pleistocene, alongside the dwarf hippopotamus Hippopotamus creutzburgi and the giant rat Kritimys.