Researchers Discover First Ever 35,000-Year-Old Mummified Woolly Rhino, Reveal They Had Hump on Neck
Researchers have unearthed a new aspect of the physical features of a Woolly Rhinoceros from the Ice Age after mummified remains in the permafrost of Yakutia, Siberia were discovered by researchers, IFL Science reported.
The remains indicated that this particular Woolly Rhinoceros had a hump on its back, solving a long-held debate among researchers about the validity of drawings found in places like the Chauvet Cave in France. Findings related to the Woolly Rhino found in Siberia have been published in the Quaternary Science Review.
The remains of Woolly Rhino were discovered in 2020 along the banks of the Tirekhtyakh River, Phys.org reported. A team of geologists, paleontologists, and mammoth fauna studies specialists, associated with various Russian institutes came together to analyze the remains. In the study, they confirmed that this Woolly Rhino has a fatty hump on its neck.
The remains were kept in a freezer after being transported to a lab for examinations. Initially, scientists conducted a visual analysis of the animal and after proper measures went forward with defrosting.
The results indicated that the rhino was four years old at the time of death, and lived approximately 32,000 years ago. Researchers further noted that the remains were in an exceptionally good condition—at least half of it, because of being frozen. The team also discovered that one of the specimen's two horns was shaped like a blade.
The feature that grabbed most of their attention though was the fatty hump, Phys.org reported. The hump measured around 13 centimeters from the place where the neck met the shoulders. This is the first time experts have found physical evidence of hump on this extinct species. Researchers are yet to conclude whether humps dissolved in Woolly Rhinos after reaching adulthood.
Pleistocene Era. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by CoreyFord)
Cave drawings like the one found in France have regularly featured Woolly Rhinos with a hump on their back, but researchers were not convinced about its accuracy. Other specimens of the animal found and analyzed by experts never showcased such humps.
The remains found in Siberia though, have put their doubts to rest. "This study confirms the accuracy of numerous cave paintings by Paleolithic artists of a woolly rhinoceros with a hump in the neck and withers area," the researchers wrote in the study. "The most accurate illustrations […] were made by a Paleolithic artist from Chauvet Cave," they continued.
Woolly Rhinos became extinct approximately 10,000 years ago, IFL Science reported. The animal is a distant relative to the white rhino, which is now the only rhinoceros species to feature a hump. Their hump consists mainly of muscle and ligaments, but in the case of Siberia's specimen, the bump was filled with fat. According to researchers, this showcases the exhibition of homoplasy. This phenomenon implies that even though the bump could be similar in appearance, their ancestral origins are different from each other.