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Humans have seen unicorns of real life. This is the conclusion of the National History Museum of the United Kingdom in London, which determined that the Elasmotherium sibiricum a species known as the "Siberian unicorn", coexisted with humans. The catch? Forget all the preconceptions of unicorns. Instead of an elegant horse, think of a hairy rhinoceros with an extraordinary horn.
The NHM study showed that the Elasmotherium had survived much longer than predicted by scientists. In general, this magnificent animal, which weighed up to 3.5 tons (7,716 pounds), was extinguished 200,000 to 100,000 years ago . However, a new radiocarbon dating shows that Elasmotherium was composed of much more consistent elements to survive. Scientists now believe that the species survived at least 39,000 years, or even 35,000 years ago
In a way, this places Elasmotherium comfortably in the world. ;history. The new life shows that it existed next to what is called the Pleistocene megafauna, gigantic animals that emerged after the dinosaurs. These included woolly mammoths, saber-toothed tigers and a wide variety of magnificent creatures that roamed the planet alongside humans until a great extinction event, probably related to natural climate change, to occur.
About 40,000 years ago, Adrian Lister, a merit researcher at NHM, said in a press release. "Thus, Elasmotherium with its apparent extinction date of 100 000 years ago or more, was not considered part of that same event."
"We have dated some specimens – such as the magnificent complete skull we have at the Museum – and to our surprise, they arrived at less than 40,000 years ago", which means that the species has shared its last days with the first human hunter-gatherers.
Further study has shown that the unicorn rhino shared some similarities with its modern parents. By examining the teeth of Elasmotherium scientists were able to compare the isotopes of carbon and nitrogen found in this species with various species of plants. By finding a match, they were able to confirm that the Siberian beast was grazing hard, dry grbad – like rhinos.
Rarely do the researchers say that the rise of humans has probably not resulted in the extinction of the rhinoceros. The specialized rhinoceros grazing diet badociated with climate change was a more likely source.
Although rhinos are rare creatures nowadays, this is not always the case. During natural history, there have been up to 250 species of rhinoceros. Nowadays, animal extinctions occur at such a rate that nature can not keep pace, leading to a biodiversity crisis.
Source: Gizmodo
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