Turkish workers discover animal skeleton belonging to unknown species

IGDIR, Turkey

A Turkish university will conduct research to find out the species of an animal whose skeleton was found by workers while digging the yard of an enterprise in eastern Turkey.

Last week, workers digging the yard of an old spinning factory in the eastern Igdir province discovered an intact skeleton of an animal about 1-meter (3.3-feet) tall, with predatory teeth.

After they noticed that some tissues of the skeleton did not deteriorate, the workers reported the situation to the academics at the Igdır University’s Biodiversity Application and Research Center.

The academics who came to the area where the excavation was made, took the skeleton to the university for research.

Belkis Muca Yigit, a lecturer at Igdir University, told Anadolu Agency 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,” Yigit added.

Yusuf Kitay, 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, Kitay said, adding: “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 nails, and it also has sharp teeth.”

“The research will be conducted, we are also curious. I hope something interesting will come out and be useful to science,” he added.