A well-preserved prehistoric wolf head was found frozen in Siberia, leading to a lot of intrigue.
According to reports from the Siberian Times and accounts from the Russian wilderness, paleontologists have discovered the head of a full-sized prehistoric wolf, believed to be from the Pleistocene era, upwards of 40,000 years ago.
The incredible discovery was found in a layer of permafrost in the Abyisky district in the north of Yakutia in eastern Siberia. A local man found it near a river last year, and the fangs, brain, and fur are still incredibly intact.
The news was made public in Tokyo, Japan at the Miraikan National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. It's being reported that further studies, specifically on the prehistoric predator's DNA, will be executed at the Swedish Museum of Natural History.
Here's the first recorded video footage of the severed wolf head.
"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," Albert Protopopov, from the Republic of Sakha Academy of Sciences, told the Siberian Times.
The head was measured at about 15.7 inches long. Compared to a modern gray wolf, whose head is 9.1-to-11 inches, that's gigantic. The fully grown Pleistocene wolf was said to be within two to fours years old when it died.
A small cave lion cub body was also found preserved near the ancient wolf head.
Though it's not known yet, scientists anticipate an investigation into whether or not the wolf's head was removed by a human, or something else.
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