Ice Age Collection

One of the best records of ancient vertebrate life in Minnesota is from the last Ice Age, during a time known as the Pleistocene. The Science Museum of Minnesota holds over 2,000 Pleistocene specimens from across the state. This Ice Age collection contains a wide range of species, including some that are now extinct; some that are not extinct, but no longer live in Minnesota; and some animals that are still here today.

Mammuthus

Castoroides ohioensis

Bison bison

Many of Minnesota’s extinct Ice Age inhabitants were very large mammals, including multiple specimens of Mammuthus, colloquially known as mammoths! These ancient elephants roamed Minnesota, covered in woolly fur, sporting a set of massive tusks. The Minnesota Ice Age collection also contains the largest rodent ever to roam North America: the giant beaver (Castoroides ohioensis). These black bear-sized beavers swam in ancient lakes, feasting on aquatic plants. Castoroides is also now the official State Fossil of Minnesota, cementing our distant past with the present.

The most abundant creature in the Ice Age collection is the bison. Bison bison is the species of bison that is still around today and were plentiful in ancient prairies. Traditionally, there have also been two other species of bison recognized from Ice Age North America: the very large Bison antiquus and Bison occidentalis, which was thought to be transitional between the two. However, some paleontologists have suggested that all three of these species are actually just the same species – the extant Bison bison, which has gotten smaller as the climate warmed after the last Ice Age ended.


Extinct Species of Minnesota

Mammuthus primigenius

Castoroides ohioensis

Homotherium serum

Cervalces scotti

Megalonyx jeffersonii

Bootherium bombifrons

The collections at the Science Museum are home to a host of extinct species that previously inhabited Minnesota, including:

Mammuthus primigenius (Woolly mammoth)

Castoroides ohioensis (Giant beaver)

Homotherium serum (Scimitar-toothed cat)

Bison occidentalis and Bison antiquus (Ancient bison)

Cervalces scotti (Stag moose)

Megalonyx jeffersonii (Giant ground sloth) 

Mammut americanum (Mastodon)

Bootherium bombifrons (Ancient muskox)