A rare, mummified polar wolf cub and caribou unearthed in Canada

The Cub remains uncovered near Dawson, Yukon. The specimen is complete, with the head, tail, fur and skin intact.

(Government of Yukon)

Two incredibly preserved ice age miners were unearthed by gold miners in northwestern Canada and unveiled at a ceremony on Thursday.

In 2016, miners in the Yukon Territory discovered a wolf cub and a caribou in the melting of the area.

It is extremely rare that fur, skin and muscle tissues are preserved in the fossil record, but all three are present on these specimens, dated more than 50,000 years old and radiocarbon dated, reports the Guardian.

The wolf would have been preserved in its entirety, including exceptional details on the head, tail, legs, skin and hair, while the caribou would be partially preserved, the head, torso and two forelimbs intact.

"To our knowledge, it's the only mummified ice age wolf in the world," said Grant Zazula, a local paleontologist working with the Yukon government.

Julie Meachen, a carnivorous morphologist who works with the Ice Age mammals at Des Moines University and will soon be researching the Cub, told The Guardian: "When Grant sent me the photos J & Was sort of out of me.

"We want to do an old DNA test to see who it is linked to and look at its microbiome to see if there are still intestinal bacteria," said Meachen.

Other researchers from around the world have reacted with the same excitement to the discovery of this former predator and its prey, which are sufficiently well preserved to allow future research on such factors as the cause of death diet, health, age and genetics.

Elsa Panciroli, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh, said, "Ice Age wolf bones are relatively common in the Yukon, but having a preserved animal with skin and fur is just exceptional. . This is an evocative overview of the ice age world. "