Mammoth fossils discovered on lake shore on Siberian Yamal peninsula

MOSCOW, July 21. /TASS/. Mammoth fossils that have been discovered by local residents on the shores of Lake Pechevalavato in Russia’s Siberian Yamal peninsula will be studied at the Research Center for Arctic Studies, the Center said on Tuesday. "Fragments of a mammoth skeleton with pieces of soft tissue have been discovered by local residents on the shores of Lake Pechevalavato near the village Seyakha on the Yamal peninsula. The village’s head, Stanislab Vanuito, immediately reported the find to scientists. The Research Center for Arctic Studies will send a party of archaeologists and museum staffers to the area already tomorrow," it said. The expedition will be tasked to study the find and look for other possible mammoth burials in the area. "The lake bottom mud may hold the rest of the mammoth skeleton. It is necessary to record the exact location of the remains for further studies," the Center’s director, Dmitry Frolov, said. According to the Center’s specialists, mammoth fossils are occasionally found in the area. "The most widely known finds are baby mammoths Masha and Lyuba found in the Yamal area in 1988 and 2007, respectively. A rich collection of mammoth bones has been recovered from the Gydansky peninsula," they said. Most of the Yamal peninsula is located north of the Arctic Circle, in the permafrost zone, with winter lasting for up to eight months a year. Mammoths roamed the Earth when the Ice Age set in to go extinct some 4,000 years ago. They were around twice the size and weight of today's elephants, reaching 5.5 meters in height and weighing up to 12 tonnes. Mammoth fossils are occasionally discovered in the Siberian permafrost. Read more