The remains of what is believed to be a 12,400-year-old puppy have been unearthed from Tumat in the Sakha Republic of Russia. This discovery represents the first-ever well-preserved brain of a Pleistocene canid.
Experts say the extinct species was found in close proximity to evidence of human activity, suggesting it was once a pet.
This ancient "pet" was found frozen in Siberan permafrost on a steep bank of the River Syalakh. After thawing the animal and washing off thousands of years of mud and dirt, scientists from Moscow's Geological Institute were able to perform an autopsy.
What's remarkable about this discovery is that the canid was incredibly well-preserved from nose to tail, with its teeth, some fur and brain found intact. Researchers are particularly interested in recovering the long-lost animal's brain, which appears to be about 70 to 80 percent preserved.
"We will be able to say more precisely after it is extracted," said Pavel Nikolsky, research fellow at the Geological Institute. "For now we can see it on MRI scans. Of course, it has dried out somewhat, but the parencephalon, cerebellum and pituitary gland are visible. We can say that this is the first time we have obtained the brain of a Pleistocene canid."
This find also represents the "frist predator's brain" to be found from the area. In 2011, a close relative of this puppy was unearthed from the same location.
"This puppy is better preserved than the previous one, so we hope to get more new information," explained Sergey Fedorov, a research fellow of the North-East Federal University. "Professor Hwang Woo-suk was also satisfied with the degree of preservation. He was very exсited. We examined the carcass thoroughly, palpated the soft tissues, searching for the areas preserved best of all. As a result, he took the samples from the skin, muscles and ear cartilage."
Woo-suk is actively involved in research aimed to clone woolly mammoths and other extinct creatures. This new extinct canid has joined the list of animals he hopes to bring back to life. During the thorough autopsy, Woo-Suk collected samples for a potential cloning of the puppy, including skin, muscle and ear cartilage. He is "optimistic about the level of preservation of the ancient pup."
Potential cloning aside, scientists hope to extract samples of ancient bacteria from the puppy's intestines as well as any parasites that may have been specific to its species.
"We took the samples of the ground which surrounded the carcass to find out the bacteria there," added Dr. Artemiy Goncharov, head of the research laboratory of the Department of Epidemiology, Parasitology and Desinfectology at the North-Western State Medical University in St Petersburg. "Later we will compare them with the bacteria from the puppy's intestines. 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."
Based on their findings, researchers believe the puppy died in a landslide, which would explain why it was entombed in permafrost. In addition to what may be the earliest "man's best friend," tools made of bone were found near the site, along with bones of an animal with traces of butchering and fire.
Although further work is required, this evidence leads researchers to believe the puppy may have been an ancient pet. Preliminary DNA tests confirmed the animal was a dog, rather than a wolf.
