What two major plant groups formed the bulk of the woolly mammoth's caloric intake?
Answer
Grasses and sedges
The diet of the woolly mammoth was highly specialized, relying overwhelmingly on specific types of low-growing vegetation found in the Mammoth Steppe. The primary components identified through extensive analysis of fossil evidence were grasses, scientifically known as *Poaceae*, and sedges, scientifically known as *Cyperaceae*. These two categories provided the vast majority of the necessary energy and bulk food required to sustain their enormous body mass across the cold Pleistocene landscapes. While other plants were consumed, the structural foundation of their caloric intake rested upon these fibrous, abundant grassland species.
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