ISTANBUL

Scientists have uncovered over 40 species that lived in Norway during the last ice age, public broadcaster NRK reported Tuesday.

Researchers have uncovered over 40 species from some 75,000 years ago – including several now extinct – in what they call a "unique discovery" in the Arne Qvam cave in the northern town of Narvik.

The new findings revealed insights previously unknown about the Ice Age and the fauna in Norway during that period.

Starting the project in 2021 by studying bones and analyzing DNA, researchers found examples of species such as the Arctic lemming, arctic fox, cod, walrus, bowhead whale, puffin, and ptarmigan.

The finding of the Arctic lemming, now extinct in Scandinavia, marked the first such discovery in Norway.

Researchers also uncovered what is believed to be the third-oldest polar bear fossil ever discovered.