When you buy through links on our site , we may earn an affiliate commission . Here ’s how it works .
About four old age ago , the mummified carcase of a 39,000 - yr - sure-enough wooly-haired mammoth was discovered in permafrost on the Laptev Sea coast near Yukagir , Russia . The animal , nickname " Yuka , " had an outstandingly well - preserved brain . It is the first , and , so far the only case of a preserved gigantic brain that has ever been recovered from permafrost , according to researchers . Here is a face at the mammoth and its brain . ( All pic courtesy of Anastasia Kharlamova of the Research Institute of Human Morphology Russian Academy of the Medical Sciences in Moscow , Russia ) [ Read full taradiddle on the woolly-headed gigantic find ]
Yuka Mammoth Find
In August 2010 , a mummified carcass of the 39,000 - year - old woolly mammoth was discovered in Siberia . The unique specimen , nickname " Yuka , " was very well preserved and even retained some of its reddish pelt .
The Yuka brain
The mammoth had an exceptionally well - preserved brain , which has now been described in a new study , published online Oct. 25 in the journal Quaternary International . In this pic , bailiwick writer Anastasia Kharlamova of the Research Institute of Human Morphology Russian Academy of the Medical Sciences in Moscow , Russia , study the fauna ’s skull with her confrere Innokenty Pavlov of Y.M. Yaroslavsky Yakutsk Regional Museum .
Skull trepanation
When the researchers trepan the animal ’s skull to get to the mastermind , they find that there were still remains of piano tissue paper on the skull ’s surface , according to the bailiwick .
The mamoth nous unveil
The mammoth specimen also had a well - preserved dura mater — which translate into " problematical female parent " — a dim membrane that protect the brain and spinal cord , as well as seeable vessel and sinus , the researchers wrote . This photo show part of Yuka ’s brain under the dissected dura mater .
Unique get hold
The Yuka woolly gigantic specimen is the first mammoth [ and enceinte mammal ] determination with the preserve brain from permafrost in the account of paleoneurology , " Kharlamova told Live Science in an electronic mail .
" And it is still [ the ] only gigantic specimen with the preserved brain , " she said , discover the presence of the nervous organization anatomical structure in this large extinct specie as something absolutely unexampled in this theatre of inquiry .
Brain unveiled
Here is the mammoth brain from a dorsal view . The brain may have been dissolve and frozen again several times , as the carcase has been put in in unlike conditions , the researchers write in the study .
3D reconstructive memory
This is a 3D reconstruction of the befuddled mammoth ’s Einstein from a lateral view . The investigator used CT and MRI scanning to learn more about the cryptic organ inside the mammoth , which was between 6 and 9 years honest-to-god when it died .
This image also shows the brain construct in 3D. base on their enquiry experience with Yuka , the investigator come up with a set of tips that intimate full scheme on how to go along with preserving potential mammoth psyche in the time to come .
" If there is an indication that the specimen find in permafrost has a continue brain , it should be transported in a frigid status to the analyzing laboratory inside the braincase , to avoid mechanical harm and deformations , " they wrote in the study , also recommending that duplicate warming and freeze should be avoid at all costs .
