First Find of a Frozen Mummy of the Fossil Don Hare Lepus tanaiticus (Leporidae, Lagomorpha) from the Pleistocene of Yakutia

Abstract

Until recently, only bone remains of Don hares, which went extinct in the Holocene, were known. For the first time, the mummy of an adult hare, identified as a Don hare, has made it possible to expand our understanding of this species and its morphological adaptations to living conditions in the Arctic steppes of the Pleistocene of Yakutia: large body length, short ears and feet, powerful locomotor apparatus of the hind limbs, hard hair brushes on the feet, and excellent heat-shielding properties of the fur, including the specific microstructure of the hairs.