4.6-Million-Year-Old Bird Remains Found in Siberian Permafrost, Represents Common Ancestor of Modern Chaffinch

In 2018, a frozen bird appeared on the ground in Siberia. Scientists have been studying it, and recently it was confirmed that the bird is about 46,000 years old, remarkably preserved in Siberia's permafrost.

This bird comes from 46000 years ago. Image source | CBS News

Researchers at Stockholm University and the Swedish Museum of Natural History analyzed it and determined that it was a female chaffinch, living on Earth between 44,000 and 49,000 years ago. The research was recently published in the journal 'Communications Biology'

The study shows that this frozen chaffinch still has distinct greyish-brown feathers. Researchers say that because its body was frozen, it was preserved exceptionally well, allowing us to understand the morphological characteristics of a series of extinct and extant animal species, as well as their ecology and evolution.

However, according to the study, most examples of frozen organisms are large mammals. Researchers say that they have never before found a frozen bird corpse from that period of permafrost.

As reported by CBS News researcher Nicholas Dutchess, 'This bird specimen can help scientists understand the evolutionary process of this subspecies, 'We not only recognize that this bird is a chaffinch, but genetic analysis also shows that this bird is the common ancestor of the two chaffinch subspecies that live today in Siberia and the Mongolian steppe.'

The study also helps scientists understand the ecosystem of the last ice age. The researchers' long-term goal is to map the complete genome of this 46,000-year-old chaffinch and compare it with the genomes of all chaffinch subspecies.