Workers digging in an old spinning factory in eastern Turkey have found an intact animal skeleton of a species that has baffled experts.
The skeleton, which remained intact under the garden, is about 1 meter (3.3 feet) tall and has the teeth of a predator. But it also appears to have the shape of a small kangaroo.
After the workers noticed that some of the tissue attached to the skeleton had yet not deteriorated, they reported their discovery to the academics at Iğdır University’s Biodiversity Application and Research Center. Researchers went to the area where the excavation was being undertaken and took the skeleton to the university.
Belkıs Muca Yiğit, a lecturer at Iğdır University, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they will try to find out the species of the animal after examination.
“Then we will ensure that this skeleton is preserved in a museum,” Yiğit said in a report from the Daily Sabah
Yusuf Kıtay, the operating officer of the excavation, said the workers found the animal skeleton while they were working in an area that has not been used for the last 30-40 years.
The shape of the skeleton caught the workers’ attention and they reported the situation to the authorities, Kıtay said.
“We especially noticed that its hindlimbs are long. We informed the authorities that it may be an interesting species as its feet do not have hooves but claws, and it also has sharp teeth.”
