The other day, Siberian miners dug up some ancient, unidentified mammal in the diamond-bearing sands in the Udachnaya mine (Mirninsky district of the Sakha Republic, in the far north-east of Russia).
Who left the gates of hell open?
Well, maybe it looks like some kind of mummified creation of the devil, but there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for all this … just, no one can say with certainty what it is.
According to the newspaper "Siberian Time", although the miners would very much like it to be something hitherto unknown and belonging to one of the dinosaur species, the researchers suggested that it could be a young wolverine - a small bear-like creature with very strong jaws and large fangs, as you can see in the photo below.
Judging by the very elongated body and large skull with fangs capable of crushing bones (both the body and the skull could elongate and deform during the time the animal was in the sand as a dead mummy), most likely, the animal belongs to predatory mammals of the mustelidae family.
According to other versions, this creature is either a sable or a pine marten, these are small, ferret-like animals from the weasel family.
Judging by the very elongated body and large skull with fangs capable of crushing bones (both the body and the skull could elongate and deform during the time the animal was in the sand as a dead mummy), most likely, the animal belongs to predatory mammals of the mustelidae family, which includes otters. badgers, weasels, martens, ferrets, minks and wolverines, although we won't know for sure until a sample has been properly analyzed.
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According to "Siberian Time", it is assumed that the creature will be taken from Udachnaya to the regional center of Yakutsk for research.
Not only is the appearance of an unknown devil beast captivating in this story, but the place where it was found is completely unique - it is famous for its diamondiferous (or diamond-bearing) sands that date back to the Mesozoic era, which lasted from about 252 million years ago to 66 million years back.
It is also known as the era called "Midlife", this is the time when life on Earth was changing rapidly, giving rise to giant reptiles, dinosaurs, mammals, as well as new plant species that spread throughout the planet.
It is unlikely that the creature found is as old as the layer of sand in which it was found, but given the incredible preserving properties of Russian permafrost, it could be quite ancient.
The Mesozoic era is divided into the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, and is significant by two events associated with mass extinctions.
It is unlikely that the creature found is as old as the layer of sand in which it was found, but given the incredible preserving properties of Russian permafrost, it could be quite ancient if we remember the wonderfully preserved 12,400-year-old baby animal found scientists in another part of the Sakha Republic as recently as last year.
That baby was so well mummified that it retained its fur and brain parts.
We will have to wait and find out exactly what conclusion will be reached in the case of that unidentified animal, and it is very important that we do not jump to conclusions until the find has passed a comprehensive check - but now, we are just talking about what we know from news reports …
But one thing is clear - perfectly normal creatures can look unusually strange when they appear before us without their fur. Do you remember the 2010 Chupacabra incident?
