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Scientists Extract 24-Million-Year-Old Proteins From Arctic Rhino Tooth

Validation of enamel-based protein recovery in diverse climates paves the way for applying paleoproteomics to dinosaur fossils within ten years.

Researchers surveying the unique sedimentary context of the Haughton Formation.
A view of the Haughton Formation near Rabbit Run creek on Devon Island, Nunavut. The dry, cold “polar desert” conditions helped preserve the ancient rhinoceros fossil found here, including traces of original proteins.
Ryan Paterson, right, and Enrico Cappellini, left, led the analysis on the rhino tooth fossil.
Scientists sequenced ancient proteins in a tooth from a prehistoric rhino relative that had been preserved in Canada's High Arctic for up to 24 million years.

Overview

  • Researchers sequenced seven proteins from the enamel of a 24-million-year-old rhinoceros tooth uncovered in the Canadian Arctic, marking the oldest detailed protein record to date.
  • Molecular analysis indicates the fossil rhino diverged from its living relatives between 41 and 25 million years ago.
  • Protein extractions from 1.5–18-million-year-old fossils in Kenya’s Turkana Basin demonstrated enamel’s protective vault-like properties, though experts emphasize the need for independent replication.
  • International teams are standardizing paleoproteomic protocols and conducting cross-site validations in polar and tropical settings to confirm reproducibility.
  • Scientists plan to extend enamel-based protein recovery methods to dinosaur fossils over the next decade to unlock deep-time evolutionary insights.