An ancient puppy, about 18,000 years old, has been discovered near Indigirka River, north-east of Yakutsk, in Siberia with all its eyelashes, whiskers, velvety nose, sharp milk teeth intact and thick hair. It was found buried inside frozen ground last year in summer by some tusk hunters.
Scientists are left bewildered and the canine is yet to be determined the reason of death. Initial report reveals the male pup’s body has no signs of distress or trauma.
However, it is still not clear what species it belongs to. DNA sequencing is not successful in finding and it could mean an evolutionary link between wolves and modern dogs. So it is yet to see whether the animal is a dog or wolf.
Researcher Dave Stanton at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Sweden said, “The DNA sequencing issue meant the animal could come from a population that is a common ancestor of both dogs and wolves.”
He added it could be a very early dog or a very early modern wolf, or else it could be a late Pleistocene (Ice Age) wolf.
Radiocarbon dating reveals the ancient puppy is 18,000-year-old while Genome analyses suggested it to be a male.
Named as Dogor, which means friend in the Yakut language, the researchers will try to find out evolution of dogs through continued DNA sequencing.
Today’s dogs are believed to have descended from wolves, but it is still debated since when the dogs started domesticated. One study published in 2017 suggested the phenomenon could be between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago.
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