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Triops Longicaudatus Red
Triops Longicaudatus
Triops Longicaudatus Red
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Palaeontology: Sabre-toothed tiger mummy discovered in the eternal ice of Siberia
Spherical paws, a round head and plush, dark fur: a Russian research team has discovered remarkably well-preserved remains of a partially mummified sabre-toothed cat in Siberia. This find in the permafrost soil is considered a scientific sensation – the remains of the prehistoric predator are so well preserved that even the fine whiskers are still recognisable. However, the prehistoric hunter does not look terrifying, as the kitten was just three weeks old when it died.
According to the researchers, the young animal belonged to the extinct species Homotherium latidens, which is often colloquially referred to as a sabre-toothed tiger, although it is more correctly categorised as a sabre-toothed cat. As the team reports in the journal Scientific Reports, the animal was found in 2020 near the Badjaricha River in the Yakutia region above the Arctic Circle. It had been preserved in a block of ice for thousands of years. Using the radiocarbon method, the scientists dated the age of the find to around 35,500 to 37,000 years, i.e. to the late Pleistocene period.
When analysing the remains, the researchers compared them with today’s lion cubs of the same age and found clear differences. The head, individual whiskers, the front legs with their clawed paws and the animal’s front body were particularly well preserved. Bones from the hips and hind legs were also recovered. In their study, the scientists describe, among other things, the stronger, more muscular neck region, the smaller ears, the elongated front legs and the shortened and broadened nose of the sabre-toothed cat. The young animal also had a thicker, darker coat and wider, rounded paws – presumably an adaptation to the cold climate and travelling in the snow.
The discovery of the Homotherium latidens mummy expands our knowledge of the distribution of this genus and confirms its presence in the late Pleistocene of Asia. It also allows scientists to directly examine the external appearance of an extinct mammal that has no equivalent in the modern animal world.
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