Mystery Monster Found in Siberian Mine

The mummified animal could be a mammal or, some suggest, a new kind of dinosaur.

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Photo: Miner holds mummified animal found in the Siberian town of Udachny. Credit: Yakutian-Sakha Informational Agency

Siberian diamond miners in the remote town of Udachny have just unearthed a treasure of a different kind: a "monster mummy" that they suspect represents a previously unknown dinosaur.

Animal experts offer other possibilities, according to the report in The Siberian Times.

"One theory is a wolverine, a carnivorous mammal that resembles a small bear," the report reads. "Or could it be a sable or marten? For now, no one is sure."

An article in the Express adds: "Due to the freezing conditions over there, with the average temperature ranging from minus 43.6 C (-110.48 F) to minus 35.2 C (-95.36 F) in January, the mummified beast is almost perfectly preserved with fangs and toe nails still intact."

Based on the photos, the animal looks to be a member of the Mustelidae family of carnivorous animals. This individual appears to have had a slim, ferret-like body, four or five digits and perhaps a single claw on each limb and, most distinctively, a bone-crushing jaw full of impressive fangs and sharp teeth.

Given those characteristics, let's consider a few of the non-dinosaur possibilities named in The Siberian Times:

Wolverine