Mummified sabre-toothed 'kitten' found preserved in permafrost

A frozen sabre-toothed kitten has been found mummified in Siberia with its claws and fur still intact.

Every now and then, evidence of extinct animals from the past reveals itself to experts after being uncovered - not least the discovery of a megalodon shark beneath a school in Los Angeles recently.

Now, in Siberia, scientists have made an incredible discovery after finding the frozen remains of the sabre-toothed cat.

The “very rare” remains are believed to be around 31,800 years old and include the animal’s head, front arms and paws, as well as part of its chest.

It was discovered in 2020, preserved in Arctic permafrost on the bank of the Badyarikha River in Yakutia in Siberia and experts have revealed their world-first research in a new study.

Researchers said: “For the first time in the history of palaeontology, the appearance of an extinct mammal that has no analogues in the modern fauna has been studied.”

The team from the A V Lopatin of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, as well as other colleagues, believed the animal was around three weeks old and compared its body composition and proportions to that of a modern lion cub of the same age.

A V Lopatin/Scientific Reports

“Significant differences” were noted in the preserved remains, including wider paws, smaller ears, a “large mouth opening” and a “very massive neck region”.

The study explained: “The difference in [neck] thickness is explained by the large volume of muscles, which is visually observed at the site of separation of the skin from the mummified flesh.”

The sabre-toothed cat also did not appear to have carpal pads (also known as shock absorbers), which experts believe may have been an adaptation linked to walking on snow or ice.

Experts have determined the cat shares characteristics with the Homotherium genus of sabre-tooth cat, which would have lived in North America and Europe 12 million to 10,000 years ago.

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