Yakutsk - Spherical paws, round head and fluffy dark fur: A Russian research team has found exceptionally well-preserved remains of a partially mummified sabre-toothed tiger in the Siberian permafrost.

However, this prehistoric predator does not look terrifying - the kitten was just three weeks old when it died.

As the research group reports in the journal "Scientific Reports", the animal was discovered in 2020 near the Badjaricha River in the Yakutia region above the Arctic Circle, where it had been preserved in a chunk of ice for thousands of years.

Using the radiocarbon method, the scientists determined that the sabre-toothed cat lived around 35,500 to 37,000 years ago, i.e. in the late Pleistocene.

According to the researchers, the kitten belonged to the now extinct species Homotherium latidens. Although these are correctly called sabre-toothed cats, they are often referred to as sabre-toothed tigers.

The kitten's head and even individual whiskers, the front legs with the clawed paws and the animal's front body have been preserved in detail. Bones from the hips and hind legs were also found.

The research team compared the remains with the anatomy of modern lion cubs of the same age and found a number of differences. In the study, the authors particularly emphasize the thicker, muscular neck region, the smaller ears and longer front legs of the sabre-toothed cat as well as the greatly shortened and widened nose.

The prehistoric young animal also had denser, darker fur and wider, rounded paws - presumably an adaptation to the cold environment and walking in the snow.

Overall, the discovery of the mummy of Homotherium latidens in Yakutia expands our understanding of the distribution of the genus and confirms its presence in the late Pleistocene of Asia, according to the study. It continues: "For the first time in the history of paleontological research, the external appearance of an extinct mammal that has no equivalent in the modern fauna has been directly examined."