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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 survived much longer than the scientists had thought. In general, this magnificent animal, which weighed up to 3.5 tons (7,716 pounds), went extinct 200,000 to 100,000 years ago.. However, a new radiocarbon dating shows that Elasmotherium was composed of much larger elements, allowing its survival. Scientists now believe that the species has survived to at least 39,000 years, perhaps as late as 35,000 years ago.
In a way, this places Elasmotherium comfortably in the story. 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.
"This large-scale extinction event did not really begin about 40,000 years ago," said Adrian Lister, NHM Merit Researcher, in a press release. "So Elasmotherium with its apparent extinction date of 100,000 years ago or more was not considered part of that same event. "
"We have dated a few specimens – like 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 human hunter-gatherers.
Further study has shown that the unicorn rhino shared some similarities with its modern parents. Examine the Elasmotherium the teeth, the scientists were able to compare the isotopes of carbon and nitrogen that were found there with various species of plants. By finding a match, they were able to confirm that the Siberian beast was browsing hard, dry grass.–just like rhinos.
In a rarity, researchers say that the rise of humans has probably not led to the extinction of the rhinoceros. The specialized rhinoceros grazing diet mixed with climate change was rather a likely source.
While rhinos are rare creatures nowadays, this has not always been 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, resulting in a biodiversity crisis.
Source: Gizmodo
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