“…Neural arch depressions have been frequently observed in mammoth remains (Maschenko, 2002; Leshchinskiy and Burkanova, 2003; Maschenko et al, 2006; Krzemińska, 2008; Krzemińska et al, 2015; Leshchinskiy, 2015, 2017), and although it has been suggested that these depressions are specific to mammoths (Krzemińska et al, 2015), the descriptions given here, together with evidence presented by other authors (Leshchinskiy, 2017; Labarca and Pacheco, 2019), indicate that these features are common within various lineages of proboscideans. Several hypotheses regarding the aetiology of these depressions have been proposed, including: a genetic trait (Maschenko, 2002; Maschenko et al, 2006), abnormal bone formation (Musil [1983] as cited in Krzemińska et al, 2015, p. 179), Kashin-Beck disease (Leshchinskiy and Burkanova, 2003; Leshchinskiy, 2012, 2015, 2017), or a calcium-phosphate metabolic disorder resulting from elevated rates of calcium and/or phosphate resorption from bone. This last would probably be linked to malnutrition or mineral deficiency, leading to the transfer of calcium or phosphate from the bones into the blood (Krzemińska et al, 2015).…”