Latest News

  • Home
  • Global
  • Frozen bird found in Siberia is 46,000 years old
Frozen bird found in Siberia is 46,000 years old
Wednesday, February 26, 2020 IST
Frozen bird found in Siberia is 46,000 years old

Scientists studying the remarkably well-preserved remains of an Ice Age bird have identified the specimen as a horned lark.

 
 

Buried and frozen in permafrost near the village of Belaya Gora in north-eastern Siberia, the bird was discovered by local fossil ivory hunters, who passed it on to a team of experts, including Nicolas Dussex and Love Dalén from the Swedish Museum of Natural History, for testing.
 
Radiocarbon dating revealed the bird lived around 46,000 years ago, and genetic analysis identified it as a horned lark (Eremophila alpestris), according to a paper published Friday in the journal Communications Biology.
 
Dalén told CNN that research showed the bird may be an ancestor to two subspecies of lark alive today, one in northern Russia and the other on the Mongolian steppe.
 
"This finding implies that the climatic changes that took place at the end of the last Ice Age led to formation of new subspecies," he said.
 
 
The bird was found in north-eastern Siberia at a site which also contained other frozen specimens.
 
The preservation of the bird is explained in large part by the cold of the permafrost, explained Dussex, but this specimen is in extraordinarily good condition.
 
"The fact that such a small and fragile specimen was near intact also suggests that dirt/mud must have been deposited gradually, or at least that the ground was relatively stable so that the bird's carcass was preserved in a state very close to its time of death," said Dussex.

 
 

The next stage of research involves sequencing the bird's entire genome, said Dalén, which will reveal more about its relationship to present day subspecies and estimate the rate of evolutionary change in larks.
 
Scientists working in the area have also found carcasses and body parts from other animals such as wolves, mammoths and wooly rhinos.
 
Dussex described such findings as "priceless" as they allow researchers to retrieve DNA and sometimes RNA, a nucleic acid present in all living cells.
 
"This in turn will open new opportunities to study the evolution of ice age fauna and understand their responses to climate change over the past 50-10 thousands of years ago," added Dussex.
 
The horned lark was discovered at the same site as an 18,000-year-old frozen puppy, which Dalén and Dussex are also studying.
 
Using carbon dating on the creature's rib bone, experts were able to confirm that the specimen had been frozen for around 18,000 years, but extensive DNA tests have so far been unable to show whether the animal was a dog or a wolf.
 
Scientists can normally tell the difference relatively easy, and researchers hope that further tests on the remains will provide more insight into exactly when dogs were domesticated.

 
 
 
 
 

Related Topics

 
 
 

Trending News & Articles

 Article
'Worse than prison': A rare look inside China's detention camps to 'brainwash' Muslims

ALMATY: Hour upon hour, day upon day, Omir Bekali and other detainees in far western China's new indoctrination camps had to disavow the...

Recently posted . 199K views . 1 min read
 

 Article
What The Shape Of Your Belly Button Says About Your Health

If you have payed attention to the belly buttons of people on the beach or the members of your family, you have probably noticed that they have different shapes and...

Recently posted . 8K views . 2 min read
 

 Article
Top 10 Horrifying Acts of Chemical Warfare and Gas Attacks

In this age of terror, there might be nothing more terrifying than the thought of an attack carried out with chemical weapons. We’ve all heard the horrific ...

Recently posted . 3K views . 4 min read
 

 Article
Top 10 Best Gym Equipment Brands in India 2018

Body fitness is one thing that everyone wants to maintain irrespective of age. Going to the gym and doing some great exercise always helps to maintain your body fit...

Recently posted . 3K views . 2 min read
 

 
 

More in Global

 Article
New Observations From Hubble Could Confirm a Leading Theory on Dark Matter

A new technique using the Hubble Space Telescope and a feature of general relativity has revealed the smallest clumps of dark matter ever identified - up to 100,000...

Recently posted. 776 views . 1 min read
 

 Article
Barack Obama tears up during tribute to Michelle, daughters in farewell speech

Illinois: President Barack Obama wiped away tears as he paid tribute to his teenage daughters and to Michelle Obama, his "closest companion," at the pas...

Recently posted. 787 views . 22 min read
 

 Article
In Hidden Mountain Air Base, Albania Stores MiGs For Sale

The communist-era jets, which include MiG-19, MiG-17 and MiG-21 models among others, have been out of commission for well over a decade.  

Recently posted. 950 views . 1 min read
 

 Reviews
The Best 5 Camping Tents in India 2018 – Reviews & Buying Guide



Recently posted . 1K views . 99 min read
 

 Reviews
Leaseweb hosting review



Recently posted . 1K views . 67 min read
 

 Article
World Economic Forum: India toast of town at Davos, from billboards to platters

  WEF is hosting its 48th annual meeting in Davos beginning Monday, where more than 3,000 leaders from across the world are expected to partic...

Recently posted. 651 views . 1 min read
 

 Article
Twenty top predictions for life 100 years from now

Last week we asked readers for their predictions of life in 100 years time. Inspired by ten 100-year predictions made by American civil engineer John Elfret...

Recently posted. 662 views . 1 min read
 

 
 
 

   Prashnavali

  Thought of the Day

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”
Anonymous

Be the first one to comment on this story

Close
Post Comment
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST


ads
Back To Top