Mummy of a juvenile sabre-toothed cat Homotherium latidens from the Upper Pleistocene of Siberia

Scientific Reports volume  14, Article number: 28016 (2024 ) Cite this article

The frozen mummy of the large felid cub was found in the Upper Pleistocene permafrost on the Badyarikha River (Indigirka River basin) in the northeast of Yakutia, Russia. The study of the specimen appearance showed its significant differences from a modern lion cub of similar age (three weeks) in the unusual shape of the muzzle with a large mouth opening and small ears, the very massive neck region, the elongated forelimbs, and the dark coat color. Tomographic analysis of the mummy skull revealed the features characteristic of Machairodontinae and of the genus Homotherium. For the first time in the history of paleontology, the appearance of an extinct mammal that has no analogues in the modern fauna has been studied.

In 2020, the frozen mummified carcass of a large carnivore cub was found in the Abyisky ulus of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The locality, called Badyarikhskoe, is located on the Badyarikha River (right tributary of the Indigirka River, Yana-Indigirka Lowland; 67°41ʹ14ʹʹN, 146°46ʹ13ʹʹE). The numerous bones of mammoth fauna representatives are collected from the loess-like loams of the Yedoma horizon in this locality.

Leave a Comment