Scientists sequence a woolly rhino genome from a 14,400-year-old wolf’s stomach
Ars Technica • • general
Key Points:
- Researchers analyzed the 14,400-year-old frozen remains of an Ice Age wolf puppy and identified its last meal as woolly rhinoceros meat, enabling the sequencing of a full woolly rhino genome from the stomach contents for the first time.
- The woolly rhino genome showed the animal came from a genetically healthy population with no signs of inbreeding, despite the species disappearing from the fossil record about 400 years later.
- Historical data indicate the woolly rhino population dropped sharply between 114,000 and 63,000 years ago but stabilized at an effective breeding population size sufficient to avoid genetic pitfalls until their sudden extinction.
- The rapid extinction of woolly rhinos likely occurred within a few hundred years
