The body of a prehistoric puppy has been uncovered by Russian scientists when it is in an unprecedented state of preservation for its age.

• Ancient puppy discovered in ice // Photo: IP

Russian scientists on Monday presented the body of a prehistoric puppy that has been frozen for 18,000 years in eastern Siberia. The puppy is in a block of frozen mud near the city of Yakutsk.

The pup's excellent state of preservation surprised researchers, who are accustomed to well-preserved findings in Siberia's witness frost, but not at this level when his puppy's fur, teeth, mustache and even lashes were found intact.

"It's amazing. The limbs are completely intact, the fur, the nose, even the gums, we can also make sure it's a male puppy," says Nikolai Andrewsov, director of the Northern Lands Museum, where the prehistoric animal remains found in Siberia are kept.

The puppy body found in Siberia // Photo: IP

What fascinates the researchers is the fact that it is difficult to determine whether it is an ancient breed of domesticated dog or a wild wolf, experts believe, it is at some stage of domestication, the earliest and most coveted dog encountered by researchers.

Genome testing done with DNA taken from the tiny body has yet to yield a definitive new result for the biological species to which the puppy belongs and the Russian research institute in Yakutsk is preparing for a third round of research that may shed light on the mystery.

In recent years, probably as a result of the global warming process, researchers in Siberia are finding more and more prehistoric animal remains in the frostbite.