Frozen saber-toothed kitten reveals ‘significant differences’ with modern lion cub | News about science, climate and technology

The frozen remains of a saber-toothed cat believed to be around 31,800 years old have been studied for the first time in history, according to a study.

The cub’s mummified remains, including its head, forearms and paws, and part of its chest, were found well preserved in Arctic permafrost on the banks of the Badyarikha River in Yakutia, in RussiaSiberia region, 2020.

“Finds of frozen mummified remains of late Pleistocene mammals are very rare,” the researchers explained, referring to the period in which it lived.

They added: “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.”

Compared to the remains of a modern lion cub of a similar age, there were “significant differences”, the experts said.

The kitten, which was about three weeks old, has wider paws almost as wide as its length.

It also does not have carpal protection (shock absorbers) which is considered an adaptation to low temperatures and walking in snow.

“Big mouth, small ears and massive neck”

The prehistoric animal also has a “large mouth opening”, small ears and a “very massive neck region” along with elongated front legs.

Its neck is “longer and more than twice as thick” as the modern cub’s, and the mouth opening is about 11% to 19% larger.

“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,” said the studywhich was performed by AV Lopatin of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow and colleagues.

The ears are also higher up on the child’s skull.

When finished, the whole animal would have been about 35 cm long.

It was determined to share characteristics with the subfamily Machairodontinae, specifically the genus Homotherium – cats with sharp, curved saber teeth that existed about 12 million to 10,000 years ago in North America and Europe.

The mummified body is covered with short, thick, soft, dark brown fur with hair about 20-30 mm long.

And the fur on the back and neck is longer than on the legs.

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The authors also wrote that “one of the striking features of the morphology of Homotherium, both in adults and in the studied juvenile, is the presence of an enlarged premaxillary bone”.

This jaw shape contains an “expanded row of large cone-shaped incisors”.

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.