The frozen ground of northern Russia is known to contain incredible archaeological treasures that allow us to reconstruct the flora and fauna of this part of the world tens of thousands of years ago. Several mammoth carcasses were thus taken out of the permafrostpermafrost and in August 2020, a small woolly rhino was discovered in the frozen soil of Siberia. Radiocarbon dating of this new specimen revealed that it had lived more than 32,000 years ago, in the middle of the Ice Age.
Half of the animal was devoured by predators at the time of its death
If the right side of the carcass has been remarkably preserved and mummified, the left side is very damaged. And for good reason. This damage was apparently caused by predators or scavengers, who feasted on a large part of the rhino’s body. It would also have died in a pond, as suggested by the presence of tiny crustaceans present in the animal’s fur. Observations of the horn, which measures 24 centimeters long, allowed us to estimate that he must have been around 4 years old at that time. It is therefore a young person, who had obviously not reached sexual maturity.
A fat bump observed for the first time on the back of the rhino
However, the analysis of the woolly rhinoceros has made it possible to learn much more about this species, which has been extinct for 10,000 years. Scientists have thus for the first time highlighted the presence of a large bump filled with fat on the of theof the of the animal. Characteristic common to many animals living in the world todayArcticArcticthis reserve was to be used to supplement the rhinoceros with energyenergy during the most difficult times.
These results were published in the journal Papers Earth Sciences.
