Editing Pygmy mammoth (section)

== Habitat and ecology ==
During the [[Last Glacial Period]], the mega-island of Santa Rosae is thought to have been forested with coniferous trees of [[cypress]], [[douglas fir]] and [[pine]]. [[Dental microwear]] analysis suggests that species had a primarily [[Browsing (herbivory)|browsing]] based diet on leaves and twigs, as opposed to the more grazing focused diet of its Columbian mammoth ancestors.<ref name=":1" /> In comparison to its larger ancestor, it likely had the ability to ascend somewhat steeper slopes.<ref name=":4" /> The island exhibited a depauperate fauna that lacked large predators.<ref name="sciencedirect.com" /> The [[Channel Islands fox]] was not present on the islands during the time of the pygmy mammoth, having only arrived on the islands around 7,300 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hofman |first1=Courtney A. |last2=Rick |first2=Torben C. |last3=Maldonado |first3=Jesús E. |last4=Collins |first4=Paul W. |last5=Erlandson |first5=Jon M. |last6=Fleischer |first6=Robert C. |last7=Smith |first7=Chelsea |last8=Sillett |first8=T. Scott |last9=Ralls |first9=Katherine |last10=Teeter |first10=Wendy |last11=Vellanoweth |first11=René L. |last12=Newsome |first12=Seth D. |date=August 2016 |title=Tracking the origins and diet of an endemic island canid (Urocyon littoralis) across 7300 years of human cultural and environmental change |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379116302104 |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |language=en |volume=146 |pages=147–160 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.06.010|bibcode=2016QSRv..146..147H }}</ref>