The skeleton of a mammoth found in south Russia last year might be the world's most intact exhibit, local museum authorities said on Thursday.

The skeleton of the mammoth, which lived between 1 and 1.8 million years ago, is slightly over 80% intact.

The remarkable condition of the discovery, the fifth in the world after similar finds in St. Petersburg, Tbilisi, Paris and another in Stavropol, has prompted museum authorities to apply for inclusion in the Guinness Book of Records.

The first mammoth skeleton was found in Stavropol in the 19th century and local museum workers believe that more could be found in the region.