Mysterious mouse mummies found in Mars-like conditions on Andean mountain peaks

Mysterious mouse mummies found in Mars-like conditions on Andean mountain peaks

A total of 13 mouse mummies have been recently discovered in the Andean mountains, at elevations once believed to be too high to host any mammal.

Mysterious mouse mummies found in Mars-like conditions on Andes mountain peaks

By Taylor Nicioli, CNN (CNN) — With freezing temperatures of down to minus 40 degrees Celsius (minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit) and vegetation hundreds and sometimes thousands of meters below the mountain tops, the summits of the Andes mountains maintain an extremely harsh environment. So how did a species of leaf-eared mouse make this barren land their home?