Even though the creature’s remains were well-preserved due to freezing temperatures, scientists are yet to determine what kind of canine it actually was.
The remains of an ancient puppy found buried in permafrost in the vicinity of the Indigirka River in Siberia, north-east of Yakutsk, left researchers scratching their heads as even a DNA test didn’t help them determine the exact nature of the creature, The Siberian Times reports.
According to the media outlet, the puppy was originally discovered in 2018, with all of its body intact, including whiskers and eyelashes.
But while scientists were able to establish that the creature lived about 18,000 years ago and that it was about two-months old at the time of its death, the initial genome sequencing performed by Swedish Centre for Palaeogenetics (CPG) failed to define whether the creature was a wolf or a dog.
Researchers theorise that the puppy might be a dog, a wolf or possibly “the so-called wolfdog/early dog, a transitional stage from a wolf to a dog” the media outlet notes, adding that the puppy was named Dogor which means “Friend” in Yakut.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
