Scientists want to clone this extinct, frozen prehistoric horse

FoxNews.com/Science ^ | Sept 6, 2018 | James Rogers

[ETL]

Scientists are analyzing the perfectly preserved remains of a prehistoric horse in a bid to clone the now-extinct animal.

Recently discovered in permafrost in the Siberian region of Yakutia, the skin, hair, hooves and tail of the carcass are all preserved. The remains are estimated to be 30,000 to 40,000 years old.

Experts believe that the foal was about 2 months old when it died.

Semyon Grigoryev, head of the Mammoth Museum in the regional capital of Yakutsk, was surprised to see the perfect state of the find. He noted it's the best-preserved ancient foal found to date. The Siberian Times reports that the foal is an extinct species of horse known as Lena horse, or Equus lenensis.

Russian and South Korean scientists are now working to extract cells from the foal that could potentially be used to clone the animal, according to The Siberian Times. If an embryo is successfully cloned, a modern horse could be used as a surrogate, experts say.

The foal was discovered in the Batagaika crater, a huge 328-foot deep depression in the East Siberian taiga. The giant crater is known locally as the “doorway to the underworld.”

[ETL]

Here’s the scene on YouTube...

https://youtu.be/rbJNyGbFNRo

[SunkenCiv]

• 40,000-yo foal unearthed in Siberia's 'Gateway to the Underworld' in perfect condition
• Scientists take samples in bid to clone extinct ancient foal as ‘first step’ to ...woolly mammoth