The discovery was made four years ago, but it is only now becoming known: researchers from the Russian Academy of Sciences have discovered the well-preserved remains of a saber-toothed tiger cub in the Siberian permafrost. The animal (Homotherium latidens) was only around three weeks old.
According to the scientists, the young animal lived in the late Pleistocene, the last ice age. This began around two million years ago and ended around 10,000 years before Christ. The team’s radiocarbon dating showed that the young saber-toothed tiger had been in the ice for between 35,471 and 37,019 years.
Finds of frozen mummified remains of late Pleistocene mammals are very rare. The saber-toothed tiger is also very well preserved. The Mummy of Badjarikha – as it is called because of its location near the Badjarikha River in the Sakha Republic – consists of the front body, the head and bones of the hip and hind legs. Even the whiskers and claws are still preserved.
The discovery of the saber-toothed tiger cub brings new insights: “Examining the mummy made it possible for the first time to observe its fur, the shape of its snout, the shape and position of the auricle, the morphology of the mouth opening and the nasal surface,” explain the researchers. The nature of the paws suggests an adaptation to cold environments.
Further research showed that the saber-toothed tiger cub had “significant differences from a modern lion cub of similar age”: The saber-toothed tiger had a larger mouth, smaller ears, longer forelegs, darker hair and a much thicker neck. These are also classic adaptations to life in cold climates, according to the researchers.
The discovery of the juvenile radically expands the understanding of the distribution of the genus and confirms its occurrence in the Upper Pleistocene of Asia, the team continued.
The study was published in the journal “Scientific Reports”. The researchers have already announced another publication.
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