Published on: 2026-09-10
Source: Novosibirsk State University –
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Scientists from Novosibirsk State University (NSU) and Ural Federal University (UrFU) conducted computed tomography of the skulls of cave hyenas found in Khakassia and stored at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The obtained 3D models will allow paleontologists to reconstruct the internal structure of the skull, assess the features of the brain structure of extinct animals, and get closer to understanding their behavior.
The study became part of a major project by Russian paleontologists to study the remains of cave hyenas. The work is carried out by specialists from UrFU in collaboration with colleagues from other scientific centers in the country. At NSU, they examined finds from Khakassia: it was not necessary to transport rare and fragile skulls since the tomograph is located directly in Novosibirsk. The team studied other materials in Yekaterinburg and St. Petersburg.
Cave hyenas were widespread in Eurasia during the Pleistocene and were important predators in the mammoth steppe ecosystem. In scientific literature, they are often considered as an extinct form or subspecies of the spotted hyena — Crocuta crocuta spelaea, although the classification issue remains controversial. By the end of the Late Pleistocene, these animals disappeared along with the large-scale restructuring of cold steppe ecosystems.
Studying such animals helps to reconstruct not only the external appearance of individual species but also the structure of ancient communities, food chains, environmental conditions, and the causes of the disappearance of entire ecosystems.
For the study, a computer tomograph from the Laboratory of Nuclear and Innovative Medicine of the Physics Department of NSU was used. Unlike traditional examination, this method allows looking inside the skull without damaging or sawing the fossilized bones. At the same time, specialists obtain a detailed digital model on which they can study internal cavities, tooth structure, signs of injuries, features of bone tissue, and other parameters.
— The most valuable thing is that we can indirectly learn about the behavioral characteristics of animals. In hyenas, certain brain regions correlate with social behavior., — said a research fellow at the Ural Federal University Daniyar Khantemirov.
The skull does not preserve the brain itself, but it replicates its shape. Therefore, researchers can create a digital mold — an endocast — from its inner surface and study the overall configuration of the brain, the relative sizes of its parts, and differences between individuals. Such data is compared with materials from modern and other fossil representatives of the hyena family.
A total of six cave hyena skulls that lived on Earth 40-45 thousand years ago have already been examined within the framework of the project. According to the scientist, about ten similar studies have been conducted worldwide before, so the new materials significantly expand the available sample for comparison. In the near future, the team plans to prepare a scientific publication; its release is expected next year.
Some of the examined skulls belonged to young specimens. This opens up a separate line of work — to trace how the structure of hyena brains changed during growth. Comparing the skulls of cubs and adult animals can provide information about the development of the nervous system and age-related changes in behavior.
The technical part of the research at NSU was carried out by an employee of the Laboratory of Nuclear and Innovative Medicine of the Physics Faculty at NSU Ulyana Krechetova. For working with ancient bones, specialists used special settings on the tomograph, which helped reduce image artifacts and obtain clear data on dense structures.
— Tomography provides a 3D reconstruction of the skull, which allows for the examination of its hidden cavities without resorting to dissection or destruction of the biomaterial., — explained Ulyana Krechetova.
In addition to reconstructing the internal cavity of the skull, tomography can help determine the approximate age of the animal, assess the condition of the teeth, detect old fractures and other antemortem injuries. The NSU laboratory has already applied this approach to study the remains of mammoths and woolly rhinoceroses. The equipment is also used in biomedical research on modern animals; however, working with fossil samples requires separate scanning protocols: in this case, higher imaging parameters can be used, not limited by the radiation safety requirements for living organisms.
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