After many years of searching, some fossil hunters have finally made an exciting discovery related to the past. In 2018, a frozen bird was found by a few fossil hunters in the Belaya Gora area of north-eastern Siberia. The bird turned out to be a 46,000-year-old lark that was buried in the permafrost.
The age and species of the bird were confirmed after scientists from Stockholm University’s Centre for Paleogenetics and the Swedish Museum of Natural History conducted collective research and study.
Here are some more details about the bird:
- The experts have confirmed that the female horned lark comes from ancient times, approximately 46,000 years ago.
- The study also suggests that some sub-species of the horned lark still exist today.
- Genetic analysis revealed that the bird belonged to a population that is an ancestor of two present-day subspecies of the horned larks—one from Siberia and the other from the steppe in Mongolia.
Nicolas Dussex, a researcher at Stockholm University’s Department of Zoology, stated that these revelations have helped in understanding the diversity of the sub-species.
Now, let’s talk about the conditions that allowed the bird’s remains to be preserved for such a long time:
The small and delicate specimen was mostly intact because of the mud that gradually covered its body. Additionally, the frozen ground, known as permafrost, helped to preserve the bird’s remains for over 46,000 years. Another contributing factor was the stable nature of the ground where the bird died. Love Dalen, an ecology and evolution investigator, explained these conclusions about the bird.
There have been other discoveries as well:
The scientists also found out that the horned lark is from the Pleistocene era. They also discovered other frozen animals in the same Siberian site, such as remains of woolly rhinos, mammoths, a 50,000-year-old cave lion cub, and an 18,000-year-old unknown frozen mammal.
In 2017, an 18,000-year-old canine was found at the same Siberian site. Dussex and Dalen conducted research to determine whether the animal was a dog or a wolf. Their study concluded that even with excellent preservation, it is difficult to determine the exact species.
However, the discovery of the prehistoric lark is considered a significant moment for the field of paleogenetics, as stated by Dussex!
Image Source: Ketinoname / Shutterstock
