The mummified remains of a mystery animal have been found in Siberia by diamond miners.
The creature was discovered in sands at Udachny, 1160 miles northwest of regional capital Yakutsk.
“The diamond miners who unearthed it believe the ‘monster mummy’ is a previously unknown kind of dinosaur,” reported The Siberian Times.
Scientists however, were reported the be “less certain” and want to study the animal which was found at one of Russia’s major diamond mines.
Other theories suggest the mini-monster could be a wolverine - a carnivorous mammal that resembles a small bear - or a sable or marten.
The mystery animal is due to be taken from Udachny - literally meaning ‘lucky’ - to Yakutsk for examination.
The diamondiferous sands where it was unearthed date from the Mesozoic Era from about 252 to 66 million years ago.
The town is famous for the Udachnaya pipe diamond deposit, discovered in 1955, and mined since the 1960s.
In 1974 a 1.7 kiloton atomic bomb was detonated 98 metres (322 ft) underground to create the basin for a tailings dam for the diamond mine.
Today’s climate in the area is extreme sub-arctic.
Average temperatures are from minus 43.6C (minus 46.5 F) to minus 35.2C (minus 31.4F) in January.
