Frozen bird that was so well preserved fossil hunters thought it ‘died yesterday’ turns out to be 46,000 YEARS-OLD
- The female bird was found preserved in permafrost in north-eastern Siberia
- The condition of its body was so good experts initially thought it a modern bird
- Researchers used radiocarbon dating to determine how old the carcass was
- It is believed that the bird died a non-violent death before being frozen solid
A frozen bird that was so well preserved that fossil hunters thought that it had ‘died yesterday’ has turned out to be 46,000 years old, from the middle of the last ice age.
The specimen — an ancestor of the horned lark — was found preserved in permafrost in a mine tunnel near the village of Belaya Gora in north-east Siberia.
The so-called ‘icebird’ was female.
It is believed to be the first recorded example of a frozen bird from this era found in tact in the area, offering new insight into the evolution of some bird species.
It has yet to be given a formal name but has been given the nickname ‘iceman’ by the two researchers studying it.
A scientific paper published today found the animal likely did a non-violent death and its remains froze almost instantly after flying into a tunnel.
Pictured: the 46,000-year-old ‘icebird’ that was so well preserved that fossil hunters mistook it for an unfortunate creature that ‘died yesterday’ – only to realise they had found the first ever ice age bird
Professor Love Dalén a palaeontologist from the Swedish Museum of Natural History, was on an expedition with local fossil ivory hunters inside an ice tunnel in Siberia when they discovered the prehistoric creature.
The fossil hunters revealed they found it in permafrost, indicating it was an ancient creature that had been there for millennia.
Professor Dalen and his colleague Nicolas Dussex analysed the remains in their laboratory.
Radiocarbon dating revealed the bird lived around 46,000 years ago and further tests identified it as an ancestor of a horned lark (Eremophila alpestris).
The find was published in the scientific journal Communicators Biology today.
Professor Dalen speculates the animal did not die a violent death as there are no obvious signs on its remains, and says it likely froze very quickly.
Pictured, a modern-day horned lark, of the eastern subspecies Eremophila alpestris penicillata
Professor Love Dalén a palaeontologist from the Swedish Museum of Natural History, was on an expedition with local fossil ivory hunters inside an ice tunnel in Siberia when they discovered the prehistoric creature (pictured)
‘The study deals with radiocarbon dating and a genomic analysis on what is likely the first-ever discovered frozen bird from the last Ice Age,’ Professor Dalen said.
‘No autopsy has been done but I think we can conclude its death likely wasn’t violent and it must have been frozen relatively quickly because otherwise it falls apart.
‘I’m pretty sure we also sexed it and it’s a female which is also a little fun fact but we’re not entirely sure what we’re going to do with that information.
‘We haven’t discussed giving it a formal name but within our circle we call it ‘Icebird’ because it was found frozen.’
Pictured, a close-up of the icebird’s foot
The remains of the frozen animal as found in a Siberian tunnel. It was so well preserved, the dad-of-one professor who studied it originally thought it must have flown into the tunnel last winter and died when it became lost
Buried and frozen in permafrost near the village of Belaya Gora in north-eastern Siberia, the bird was discovered by local fossil ivory hunters
Originally, the researchers were baffled as to what sort of bird it was, thinking it may be a thrush or a lark.
But help from ornithologists via Twitter helped identify the bird and in the paper it is revealed as an ancestor to two different subspecies of horned lark in Russia and Mongolia.
Professor Dalen added: ‘[I was] holding that little bird in my hand and feeling that it looks like it died yesterday but might have actually died tens of thousands of years ago.
‘It’s a small animal that would have been flying around and living in that environment with cave lions and mammoths and so on – it’s a pretty special feeling.’