Organism
Woolly Mammoth
TL;DR
Example of evolutionary tracking's limitations.
Example of evolutionary tracking's limitations. Woolly mammoths evolved dense fur and other adaptations for glacial climates over 100,000-year Ice Age cycles - sufficient time for genetic adaptation (10,000 generations). However, when climate warmed faster than previous interglacials at the end of the last Ice Age (~12,000 years ago), mammoths couldn't evolve quickly enough and went extinct. Demonstrates that evolutionary tracking works for predictable, slow cycles but fails for rapid, novel changes.
Notable Traits of Woolly Mammoth
- Dense fur adaptation
- Cold climate specialization
- Extinction due to rapid climate change
- Evolutionary lag victim