The well-preserved body of a 12,400-year-old “puppy” has been discovered in northeastern Russia.
Found near remnants of ancient human activity, where the bones of other animals showed evidence of having been cut and burned, the extinct Pleistocene-era dog is believed to have been a pet to humans.
Of interests to scientists is that the dog has been incredibly well preserved, more than any other Pleistocene-era canine or predator available to them.
“For now we can see it on MRI scans...the parencephalon, cerebellum and pituitary gland are visible,” Moscow researcher Pavel Nikolsky told the Siberian Times. “We can say that this is the first time we have obtained the brain of a Pleistocene canid.”
Some bacteria in the puppy’s intestines may also be still alive, and could be extracted by the scientists to study what parasites Pleistocene-era animals were vulnerable to.
“We hope to find ancient bacteria among them. Also we took samples to find the parasites—ticks, fleas. We hope to find the parasites which were characteristic for this exact species,” Dr. Artemiy Goncharov told the Times.
The puppy is believed to have died in a mudslide, then sealed in permafrost, leading to its mummified state.
