If you grew up a fan of fantasy novels or films, chances are you have already heard about mystical creatures known as unicorns. While depictions of these creatures vary from culture to culture, they are mostly the guise of a mare with a spiraling horn on the forehead.
In a study featured in the American Journal of Applied Science, scientists from Tomsk State University (TSU) in Russia have discovered the fossilized remains of a pre-historic creature that greatly resemble the physical features of the unicorn from lore.
Paleontologist Andrei Shpansky and his colleagues at TSU described the "Siberian unicorn" as a member of the Elasmotherium sibiricum, a species of rhinos that was endemic in Siberia before eventually becoming extinct some 350,000 years ago.
This particular Siberian rhino, however, appears to have found a refuge in Kazakhstan about 29,000 years ago.
Shpansky said that the southern portion of Western Siberia may have served as a form of sanctuary for the rhinoceros, allowing it to live for a longer period of time compared to other Elasmotherium sibiricum. The creature also had the option to move further south and dwell in that region for a while.
The researchers based their findings on examinations of an Elasmotherium sibiricum skull, which was unearthed near the village of Kozhamzhar in Kazakhstan's Pavlodar region. Despite showing evidence of cracks on the specimen, it is considered to be well-preserved, with no signs of gnawing, exfoliation, or palletization.
After subjecting the skull of the Siberian unicorn to radiocarbon testing at Queen's University Belfast (QUB) in the United Kingdom, the team found that the creature that used to own it likely perished 29,000 years ago. It is believed that it may have been a male rhinoceros with immense size, which is consistent with depictions of the creatures in literature, according to a scientist at QUB.
According to research, Siberian unicorns were capable of growing up to 15 feet in length. They were also able to weigh as much as 8,000 to 10,000 pounds. This made them significantly larger compared to African or Asian forest elephants.
By comparison, modern-day white rhinos can grow somewhere between 11 feet to 14 feet and weigh up to 8,000 pounds, while black rhinos can reach 10 feet to 13 feet and weigh up to 3,000 pounds.
Both the pre-historic creature and its present-day counterparts had the characteristic large horn on their forehead, which they use to defend themselves.
Before the recent discovery of the Siberian unicorn remains, Elasmotherium sibiricum were believed to have gone extinct some 350,000 years ago. The creatures' last known habitat was in a vast stretch of land from the Don River all the way to modern-day Kazakhstan in the east.
Photo: Macinate | Flickr
