Overview
- The peer‑reviewed study, published January 14 in Genome Biology and Evolution, reports the first complete Ice Age genome recovered from tissue inside another animal’s stomach.
- The rhino tissue came from a permafrost‑preserved wolf pup found near Tumat in northeastern Siberia and was radiocarbon‑dated to about 14,400 years ago, making it one of the youngest woolly rhino specimens.
- Comparisons with two older high‑quality genomes, roughly 18,000 and 49,000 years old, revealed no uptick in inbreeding or harmful mutations through time.
- The authors conclude the species likely collapsed rapidly during abrupt late‑Pleistocene warming (Bølling–Allerød), rather than through a long decline driven primarily by human hunting.
- The work showcases methods to extract highly degraded prey DNA despite overwhelming predator DNA, though researchers note that similarly late specimens are rare for broader population analyses.