Highlights of collections of Weifang Museum - Mammuthus weifangensis

Weifang has a long history and rich cultural heritage, particularly noted for its paleontological fossils. After research, validation, and expert evaluation, Weifang Museum selected four major treasures of the museum, one of which is the Mammuthus weifangensis fossil.

Mammuthus weifangensis fossil was discovered in Weifang City in 1979, with the specimen being almost completely preserved. It represents a young male mammoth individual approximately 20 years old. This mammoth lived during the late Pleistocene epoch of the Quaternary period, about 200,000 years ago. Its body structure was more advanced than that of southern mammoths, indicating a new species in the late evolution of the mammoth genus, and was officially named "Mammuthus weifangensis" by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Mammuthus weifangensis, as a witness to the environmental changes during the Quaternary glacial and interglacial periods, provides significant scientific value to the study of paleontology and the evolution of regional environments.

Mammuthus weifangensis is not only recognized as the largest mammoth fossil known globally, but also stands as the only mammoth species named after a Chinese city. It is the southernmost mammoth discovered to date. As a symbol of auspiciousness, the Mammuthus weifangensis fossil, in conjunction with Zhucheng’s dinosaur fossils, has jointly shaped Weifang’s distinctive cultural label as a "City of Dinosaurs and Mammoths."