Giant Pleistocene wolf discovered in Siberian permafrost

Sensational find of head of the beast with its brain intact, preserved since prehistoric times in permafrost.

The Pleistocene wolf’s head is 40cm long, so half of the whole body length of a modern wolf
which varies from 66 to 86cm [Credit: Albert Protopopov]

The severed head of the world’s first full-sized Pleistocene wolf was unearthed in the Abyisky district in the north of Yakutia.

Local man Pavel Efimov found it in summer 2018 on shore of the Tirekhtyakh River, tributary of Indigirka.

The wolf, whose rich mammoth-like fur and impressive fangs are still intact, was fully grown
and aged from two to four years old when it died [Credit: Albert Protopopov]

The wolf, whose rich mammoth-like fur and impressive fangs are still intact, was fully grown and aged from two to four years old when it died.

The head was dated older than 40,000 years by Japanese scientists.

CT scan of the wolf's head [Credit: Albert Protopopov,
Naoki Suzuki]

Scientists at the Swedish Museum of Natural History will examine the Pleistocene predator’s DNA.

"This is a unique discovery of the first ever remains of a fully grown Pleistocene wolf with its tissue preserved. We will be comparing it to modern-day wolves to understand how the species has evolved and to reconstruct its appearance," said an excited Albert Protopopov, from the Republic of Sakha Academy of Sciences.

‘This is a unique discovery of the first ever remains of a fully grown Pleistocene wolf
with its tissue preserved' [Credit: Naoki Suzuki]

The Pleistocene wolf’s head is 40cm long, so half of the whole body length of a modern wolf which varies from 66 to 86cm.

The astonishing discovery was announced in Tokyo, Japan, during the opening of a grandiose Woolly Mammoth exhibition organised by Yakutian and Japanese scientists.

Source: The Siberian Times [June 07, 2019]