In Siberia, found the severed head of a giant wolf who lived 40,000 years ago

The remains of many are stored in the permafrost of Siberia.ancient animals, and from time to time, researchers manage to dig them up. One of the last finds is the severed head of a huge wolf, which was found in the Abyisky district of the Republic of Yakutia, on the Tirekhty river. According to Albert Protopopov, Dr. Sc. (Biol.), The find is unique because the wolf perfectly preserved soft tissues and brain. Scientists from Russia, Japan and Sweden are currently studying the remains.

The head of a wolf was found in 2018 by a residentYakutia Pavel Efimov. The discovery was reported to the staff of the study of the mammoth fauna of the local Academy of Sciences. To study the remains, Russian scientists have teamed up with colleagues from Japan and Sweden, and told about their discoveries during a special exhibition in Tokyo.

Place the discovery of the remains of a wolf

Prehistoric wolf's head found in Yakutia

Japanese scientists began dating the remains -in their opinion, the discovered wolf died 40,000 years ago, at the age of three or four years. About the huge size of a wolf shows his head, the length of which is equal to 40 centimeters. It corresponds to the size of the largest specimens of modern wolves, the length of which is from 1.2 to 2 meters.

Scientists from Sweden, in turn, are engaged instudying the DNA of an ancient animal. The work has not yet been completed, because researchers want to carefully compare it with modern wolves and identify important evolutionary changes. The internal structure of the head is studied using a tomographic apparatus - it is important for scientists not to damage the remains. Subsequently, based on these data, scientists will be able to reconstruct the appearance of the ancient predator and show it to people.

This is a unique discovery of the first ever remains.adult wolf of the Pleistocene era with preserved tissues. We will compare it with modern wolves in order to understand how it evolved and to reconstruct its appearance, ”shared Albert Protopopov.

Why only the head of the wolf remained, and whereis his body, the researchers did not report. It can be assumed that it was cut off by the ancient inhabitants of these lands - in the era of the late Paleolithic people were already quite able to manufacture tools that could kill dangerous predators.

Prehistoric animals of Siberia

Many years earlier in the Abyisky district of Yakutiafound the well-preserved bodies of prehistoric predators. For example, between 2015 and 2017, scientists discovered the bodies of three ancient lions at once. They were all cubs and died shortly after birth. One of them, the researchers gave the nickname Spartak - the length of his body is 40 centimeters, and the weight is 800 grams.

Also in Siberia found well-preservedremains of mammoths. The most famous of them is the mammoth Lyuba, found in 2007, and the baby mammoth found in 2010, named Yuka. The functions of the cells of the latter, by the way, researchers from Japan recently tried to activate again. More information about this can be found in our material.

Some animal remains retain their excellent appearance even after 50,000 years. For example, in 2018 mummified wolf and deer bodies were found in Canada.

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