Scientists report 24,000-year-old microscopic animal found alive in permafrost

Scientists this week announced the successful survival of a 24,000-year-old microscopic animal found living in the Siberian permafrost.

An international team of researchers wrote in the journal Biology of the discovery of “an obligate parthenogenetic bdelloid rotifer,” one recovered “from northeastern Siberian permafrost radiocarbon-dated to ∼24,000 years [ago].” 

The creatures “are known for their ability to survive extremely low temperatures,” while the latest discovery “constitutes the longest reported case of rotifer survival in a frozen state.”

The scientists also found that “a clonal culture [of the animal’s cells] can continuously reproduce in the laboratory by parthenogenesis,” or asexual reproduction.