What adaptation helped woolly mammoths minimize thermal energy loss through their extremities compared to modern elephants?
Answer
Noticeably small ears and tails
A key strategy for surviving persistently below-freezing ambient temperatures involved minimizing the surface area through which precious body heat could be lost. Unlike modern elephants living in hotter climates, which possess large ears filled with blood vessels to radiate heat away, woolly mammoths evolved noticeably small and rounded ears, along with relatively short tails. This reduction in exposed surface area significantly limited thermal exchange, embodying the principle described by Allen's rule for cold-dwelling relatives.
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