Challenging Science: Researchers Discover Mice Mummies on “Mars-Like” Volcano Peaks

A study uncovered mummified mice on high-elevation Andean volcanoes, revealing that mammals can survive in extreme, Mars-like conditions. This finding challenges our understanding of vertebrate life’s physiological limits and prompts further research into these mice’s survival mechanisms.

The barren, wind-blasted peaks of volcanoes in the Puna de Atacama, straddling Chile and Argentina, bear a striking resemblance to the Martian surface, characterized by a sparse atmosphere and frigid conditions. Situated at staggering heights exceeding 6,000 meters, these summits were previously thought to be inhospitable for mammalian existence. However, a study recently published in the journal Current Biology presents a groundbreaking discovery: mummified mice found in these harsh landscapes, pushing the known boundaries of vertebrate survival on our planet.

“The most surprising thing about our discovery is that mammals could be living on the summits of volcanoes in such an inhospitable, Mars-like environment,” says senior author Jay Storz, a biologist at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. “Well-trained mountain climbers can tolerate such extreme elevations during a one-day summit attempt, but the fact that mice are actually living at such elevations demonstrates that we have underestimated the physiological tolerances of small mammals.”

This photograph shows a member of a species of leaf-eared mouse called Phyllotis vaccarum. Credit: Marcial Quiroga-Carmona

Storz and his colleagues discovered the first mouse mummy on the summit of Volcán Salín by chance when they stumbled across the desiccated cadaver at the edge of a rock pile. But, now knowing what to look for, they soon turned up others.

“Once my climbing partner and I started searching through the rest of the rocks, we found seven more mummies on the same summit,” Storz recalls.

They then started searching systematically on the summits of all the Andean volcanoes. So far, they’ve searched 21 volcano summits, including 18 with elevations over 6,000 meters. All told, they’ve found 13 mummified mice on the summits of multiple volcanoes with an elevation greater than 6,000 meters. In some cases, the mummies were accompanied by skeletal remains of numerous other mice.

Video showing the site where 4 mummies were excavated from a site on the summit of Volcán Púlar (6,233 m), Chile. Credit: Jay Storz

Radiocarbon Dating and Genetic Analysis

Radiocarbon dating showed that the mummified mice found on the summits of two volcanoes were a few decades old at most. Those from a third site were older, estimated at 350 years old at most. Genetic analysis of the summit mummies demonstrated that they represent a species of leaf-eared mouse called Phyllotis vaccarum, which is known to occur at lower elevations in the region.

“The discovery of the mouse mummies on the summits of these freezing, wind-scoured volcano summits was a huge surprise,” Storz says. “In combination with our live-capture records of mice on the summits and flanks of other high-elevation Andean volcanoes, we are amassing more and more evidence that there are long-term resident populations of mice living at extreme elevations.”

This photograph shows a member of the research team at the summit of Ojos del Salado, 6,893 m (Puna de Atacama, Chile-Argentina). Credit: Mario Pérez Mamani

Exploring the Mysteries of High-Altitude Mammalian Life

The finding now raises important questions, including how mammals can live in a barren world of rock, ice, and snow where the temperatures are never above freezing, and there is roughly half the oxygen available at sea level. It’s not clear why the mice would have climbed to such heights. Over 500 years ago, Incas were known to conduct human and animal sacrifices on the summits of some Andean peaks. However, the researchers note that the mummified mice from the volcano summits couldn’t have been transported there by the Incas, given that none are old enough to have co-existed with them.

In ongoing work, the researchers are investigating whether the high-elevation mice have special physiological traits that enable them to survive and function in low-oxygen conditions. They’re conducting physiological experiments on captive mice that were collected from high elevations to find out. They’re also continuing their mountaineering surveys of small mammals on high Andean peaks in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile.

“With our mountaineering biological surveys in the Andes, we keep making surprising new discoveries about the ecology of extreme high-elevation environments,” Storz says.

Reference: “Genomic insights into the mystery of mouse mummies on the summits of Atacama volcanoes” by Jay F. Storz, Schuyler Liphardt, Marcial Quiroga-Carmona, Naim M. Bautista, Juan C. Opazo, Timothy B. Wheeler, Guillermo D’Elía and Jeffrey M. Good, 23 October 2023, Current Biology.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.081

This work was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Geographic Society, and FONDECYT.