We tend to lump all mammoths together as big, hairy elephant-like beasts with enormous tusks. But there were a number of mammoth species, including less furry ones that inhabited temperate regions. And the furry ones include at least three species: the Eurasian steppe mammoth, the Arctic-specializing woolly mammoth, and the late-evolving North America-only Columbian mammoth.

Because these species inhabited the Arctic, it has been remarkably easy to obtain DNA from them, providing a genetic picture of their relations. The DNA suggests that the woolly mammoth is an offshoot of the steppe mammoth lineage, and was the first to migrate into North America. But the Columbian mammoth was a bit of an enigma; some genetic data suggested it was also a steppe offshoot, while other samples indicated it might be a woolly/steppe hybrid.

But all of that data came from animals living in colder environments. In contrast, the Columbian mammoth ranged as far south as Central America. And now, a group of researchers has managed to obtain a bit of genetic information from bones found in the Basin of Mexico, which includes Mexico City. And these mammoths appear to form a distinct genetic cluster, and are all more closely related to each other than to any other woolly or Columbian mammoths.

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