Scientists have managed to thaw out and perform an autopsy on an ancient frozen puppy, which was mummified in the Russian permafrost some 12,400 years ago.

Discovered in an icy grave near the village of Tumat in the Sakha Republic of Russia last year, the ‘Tumat Puppy’ appears to be an extinct species of canine, and with its surprisingly well-preserved brain, there’s a possibility that it could be cloned back to life.

more

Seems like a good opportunity to renew the gene pool of modern dogs. Dogs evolve rapidly enough it would provide excellent data.

12,400 year old puppy. How many human years is that? :)

> an extinct species of canine
> Believed to have been someone’s pet at the time of its death

Now that’s interesting. Extinct so recently. This is the first I’ve heard of an extinct pet.

A genetic comparison to modern dogs should prove to be most interesting.

Extinct species, or extinct breed?

party_pants said:

Extinct species, or extinct breed?

Exactly. They claim extinct species. The genetic makeup of the domestic dog is more varied than that of the wolf, and yet the wolf is said to be four species as against one species for the domestic dog. This ties in with the way that zoologists separate animals.

Just by chance I was reading today about a pet dog buried in Israel beside its master, also circa 10,000 years old.

mollwollfumble said:

Just by chance I was reading today about a pet dog buried in Israel beside its master, also circa 10,000 years old.

The exact quote is: “One of the first pet dogs we know about is a puppy that was buried in a human grave about ten thousand to twelve thousand years ago in the country that is now Israel. In the same grave was a woman with her hand resting on the puppy’s body, almost as if she was stroking it.”

Compare that with 12,400 years for the new Russian one.