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'A quarter of the world's timber grows within Siberia’s boundaries'

W.Bruce Lincoln

'Mummified remains of mystery monster' found in Yakutia

By The Siberian Times reporter

09 August 2016

A new type of dinosaur? A predator, like a wolverine? Scientists puzzle over the new discovery.

One theory is a wolverine, a carnivorous mammal that resembles a small bear. Picture: YSIA

The strange ancient creature was found in diamond yielding sands in Udachny, Mirninsky district of Yakutia, also known as the Sakha Republic. The diamond miners who unearthed it believe the 'monster mummy' is a previously unknown kind of dinosaur.

Experts are less certain, and want to study the unknown mini-monster more closely. One theory is a wolverine, a carnivorous mammal that resembles a small bear.

Or could it be a sable or marten? For now, no-one is sure.

Strange creature in Udachny

The diamond miners who unearthed it believe the 'monster mummy' is a previously unknown kind of dinosaur. Picture: YSIA

It is expected that the creature will be taken from Udachny - literally meaning 'lucky' - to regional capital Yakutsk, 1686 kilometres to the southeast.

The animal was found in diamondiferous sands in the town which date from the Mesozoic Era from about 252 to 66 million years ago.

The town is famous for the Udachnaya pipe diamond deposit, discovered in 1955, and mined since the 1960s. In 1974 a 1.7 kiloton atomic bomb was detonated 98 metres (322 ft) underground to create the basin for a tailings dam for the diamond mine.

Today's climate in the area is extreme sub-arctic. Average temperatures are from minus 43.6C (minus 46.5 F) to minus 35.2C (minus 31.4F) in January.

It is expected that the creature will be taken from Udachny - literally meaning 'lucky' - to regional capital Yakutsk, 1686 kilometres to the southeast. Pictures: The Siberian Times, Rainyman

Udachny

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For everyone who said it was "found in the mesozoic layer" etc. That's not what the article says at all. It says the diamond mines are from that era. Not the mustelid. They probably found it in a mineshaft. It's a skinned martin or a stoat. Some kind of mustelid. As someone else has pointed out, it shows telltale signs of the method used to skin it. The thing is probably less than 10 years old. I dont know why the miners are hyping this. Maybe it's because they want money or theyre just plain stupid.

case closed. not a mystery, not a dinosaur, not ancient.

Zrcalo Sveta, Phoenix USA

11/09/2016 02:50

Strange, isn't it, that this creature is thought by everyone to be a mammal, and I don't disagree. But, isn't the problem apparent? If the layer it came from is Mesozoic (and everyone says that it is), then we're dead wrong on SOMETHING! Mammals aren't supposed to be from that era AT ALL! I'm suspecting that what we've been taught about what lived and when is not factual. It can't be! Not if this is what it appears to be from a layer that's supposed to be that old...

Brian, Lebanon, PA, USA

03/09/2016 10:15

Brian, Lebanon, PA, USA

03/09/2016 05:53

Whatever it is, it is certainly a carnivorous mammal. Anyone can see that from the complex dentition. Prob needs checking out however by scientsts to ensure it is a known species and where it fits into the record of local / historical fauna. Why does everyone think a dead animal whose ears have rotted off is a bloody dinosaur?!

R K Moore, Scunthorpe UK

27/08/2016 20:47

It's a weasel you can tell by the arch back and the sharp teeth and the longirls tail it's just bigger

Katie Palomino, Amarillo tx

18/08/2016 02:46

I raise marten as a food source and find the likeness similar when I dress them for preparation. I save the skins for apparel and would not waste a perfectly size one as the picture shows. I find it appetizing and would recommend tasting fried with a good Amontillado for a perfect pairing of taste!

Corns Holein, Toomsboro Ga.

12/08/2016 06:49

I want to see more picture.

Biswas Lincoln, Bangladesh

12/08/2016 04:21

It's a marten. I've trapped them in Alaska for years and they look just like this after they're skinned. If the miners found it in their shaft, then someone put it there recently. Sounds like a practical joke.

The marten was caught for its fur by one of my fellow trappers across the international dateline. You can tell because the feet have been skinned out to the first joint in the toes, which are then cut off. It's the standard method for preparing marten pelts here in Alaska, too — it's interesting to see that trappers in Russia do it the same way.

Sam, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

11/08/2016 23:20

Maybe a snow panther. Some decades old mummy.

Szabolcs, Bekescsaba/ Hungary

11/08/2016 22:55

Quoting "The animal was found in diamondiferous sands in the town which date from the Mesozoic Era from about 252 to 66 million years ago." Makes it a bit older than the 5,000 to 12,000 years old Earth theory that some groups insist. Anything that indicates more must be the work of the Devil I was told. Someone mentioned I should worry about the future of my Soul. ?? So that ??? is a devil's diamond ??
Totally mind blowing.

Emmett, US of A

11/08/2016 10:42

Teeth, zygomatic region, everything suggests a mammal. A quite recent mammal.

Rubén, Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina

11/08/2016 02:02

The canine + molar teeth and curved cheekbone plus long supple spine and non grasping paws all indicate this is a Carnivore, a mammal, not a dinosaur, likely, as mentioned in the text, in the martin family.

David Peters, St. Louis

10/08/2016 16:43

It's just an otter.
Search google for "otter skull" and compare.

Gabriele, Italy

10/08/2016 14:31

I thank the readers here who gave me an upvote. However, I would much prefer a comment, even a counter-comment, to my ideas which I detailed in the comments on the other linked article about the frozen cave lions.

Those ideas are too long to paste over here with the new short length limits. So please paste the following link in your browser and read the article and comments over there if you don't mind.

http://siberiantimes.com/home/born-in-siberia/b0022whiskers-still-bristling-after-more-than-12000-years-in-the-siberian-cold/

AmericanReader, Morning Star, WV

10/08/2016 11:21

AmericanReader, Morning Star, WV

10/08/2016 11:10