Tooth morphology of Mammuthus meridionalis from the southern bight of the North Sea and from several localities in the Netherlands

Dental remains of M. meridionalis (NESTI, 1825) from the southern bight of the North Sea and from the continental part of The Netherlands are morphologically compared with a sample from the fluvio-lacustrine beds of the Valdarno Superiore (Italy), from which the lectotype of the species was collected. In part, the samples from Italy and northwestern Europe have different ages, yet there is a large amount of morphological overlap. This leads to the conclusion that M. meridionalis was conservative in its dental evolution. The reliability of dating based on morphological characteristics of smaller samples is therefore reduced. Bavelian in situ material from Oosterhout and Dorst shows typical morphological characteristics in the ontogenetically earlier teeth (M1/m1), and somewhat advanced traits in the later teeth (M2-M3/m3). With reference to similar material from Germany and Italy this is interpreted as indicative of a minor shift in mean dental morphology.