Saber-toothed kitten frozen in Siberian ice reveals new deta
Nov 18, 2024 11:53:34 GMT
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brookie, kittylady, and 3 more like this
Post by no1novice on Nov 18, 2024 11:53:34 GMT
Not really a pet but I thought you would fine it interesting.
Saber-toothed kitten frozen in Siberian ice reveals new details about species
Ice mummy preserves extinct cat from claws to paws
15 Nov 20245:35 PM ETByKermit Pattison
A. V. Lopatin et al./Scientific Reports
Saber-toothed cats are iconic creatures often seen in museum dioramas, displays of fossil skeletons, and even the movie Ice Age. Now, for the first time one of these extinct predators has been spotted in the flesh. In a study published this week in Scientific Reports, researchers describe the frozen body of a saber-toothed kitten preserved for 37,000 years in the Siberian permafrost.
The carcass—containing the head, forelimbs, and front part of the animal—was discovered encased in a chunk of ice in 2020 near the Badyarikha River in northern Siberia, above the Arctic Circle. Radiocarbon dating revealed the cat—belonging to the species Homotherium latidens—lived in the late Pleistocene epoch 35,500 to 37,000 years ago.
Based on the emergence of its baby incisor teeth, researchers estimate the cub was about 3 weeks old when it died.
The frozen carcass provides a remarkable snapshot of a bygone apex predator. The body is covered with centimeters-thick, soft, brown fur and the lips still bear two rows of broken whiskers (as seen in the image above). The forelimbs even retain soft footpads and still-sharp claws.
For many years, paleontologists have debated what these prehistoric big cats would have looked like based on their fossilized bones. The frozen cub provides new revelations about its soft tissue anatomy such as the shape of its ears, muzzle, muscles, and broad feet adapted to walking in deep snow.
Homotherium had anatomy similar to modern African lions but with shorter bodies and longer limbs—and these differences already were evident in the 3-week old cub. The discovery also came with some surprises: The kitten had a stout neck more than twice as thick as a modern lion.
www.science.org/content/article/saber-toothed-kitten-frozen-siberian-ice-reveals-new-details-about-species
(Original report linked to in the article:- www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-79546-1 )
Saber-toothed kitten frozen in Siberian ice reveals new details about species
Ice mummy preserves extinct cat from claws to paws
15 Nov 20245:35 PM ETByKermit Pattison
A. V. Lopatin et al./Scientific Reports
Saber-toothed cats are iconic creatures often seen in museum dioramas, displays of fossil skeletons, and even the movie Ice Age. Now, for the first time one of these extinct predators has been spotted in the flesh. In a study published this week in Scientific Reports, researchers describe the frozen body of a saber-toothed kitten preserved for 37,000 years in the Siberian permafrost.
The carcass—containing the head, forelimbs, and front part of the animal—was discovered encased in a chunk of ice in 2020 near the Badyarikha River in northern Siberia, above the Arctic Circle. Radiocarbon dating revealed the cat—belonging to the species Homotherium latidens—lived in the late Pleistocene epoch 35,500 to 37,000 years ago.
Based on the emergence of its baby incisor teeth, researchers estimate the cub was about 3 weeks old when it died.
The frozen carcass provides a remarkable snapshot of a bygone apex predator. The body is covered with centimeters-thick, soft, brown fur and the lips still bear two rows of broken whiskers (as seen in the image above). The forelimbs even retain soft footpads and still-sharp claws.
For many years, paleontologists have debated what these prehistoric big cats would have looked like based on their fossilized bones. The frozen cub provides new revelations about its soft tissue anatomy such as the shape of its ears, muzzle, muscles, and broad feet adapted to walking in deep snow.
Homotherium had anatomy similar to modern African lions but with shorter bodies and longer limbs—and these differences already were evident in the 3-week old cub. The discovery also came with some surprises: The kitten had a stout neck more than twice as thick as a modern lion.
www.science.org/content/article/saber-toothed-kitten-frozen-siberian-ice-reveals-new-details-about-species
(Original report linked to in the article:- www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-79546-1 )
