A microbe called Leech Rotifer was frozen in Siberian permafrost for 24,000 years before being thawed by researchers and revived.
Russian researchers took soil samples from the riverbed of the Araziya River in the Yakutia region of northeastern Siberia and found the microbe, called leech rotifers, Reuters reported.
It is more common in freshwater habitats around the world and is known for its hardiness. Previous studies have shown that rotifers can survive for 10 years in minus 20 degrees Celsius.
Russian researchers used radiocarbon isotope dating to determine that the "age" of soil samples containing hirud rotifers was about 24,000 years. This is the longest known leech rotifer can survive in a frozen state. The study was published in the newly published American journal Contemporary Biology.
Researchers previously resurrected a miniature worm called nematode from the frozen soil of northern Siberia, which is estimated to have been frozen for more than 30,000 years. (Yuan Yuan) [Xinhua News Agency Micro Feature]
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