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Today, there are only five species of rhinoceros left, although there have been up to 250 species at different times. Weighing up to 3.5 tons, Elasmotherium sibiricum was without a doubt one of the most impressive. It has long been assumed that this fantastic beast was extinct well before the last ice age. His disappearance prior to the large-scale extinction of the megafauna that saw the end of the woolly mammoth, Irish elk and saber-toothed cat, however, was questioned by a new study.
Prof. Adrian Lister, Merit Researcher at the Natural History Museum, said: "This megafauna extinction event really only began about 40,000 years ago. 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 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, "
Professor Lister then collaborated with researchers from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Russia for a total of 23 specimens. The radiocarbon dating results obtained using state-of-the-art methodologies show that this species has survived to at least 39,000 years, or even up to 35,000 years.
Further study also revealed more information on the biology of the species and its possible behavior. The researchers studied stable isotope ratios in rhinoceros teeth, including examining levels of different isotopes of carbon and nitrogen, and then comparing them to different plants, thus allowing them to determine that the animals ate. The results confirm that the "Siberian unicorn" probably suffered from hard, dry grass.
Elasmotherium the last days were shared with modern Neanderthal men and men. It is unlikely, however, that the presence of humans has been a cause of extinction. Instead, it is more likely that dramatic climate fluctuations during this period, combined with the specialized grazing lifestyle and the naturally weak rhinoceros population, have pushed the species to the limit.
Adrian's colleagues in Australia were also able to extract DNA from some of the fossils, the first time a DNA was found in E. sibiricum. This settled a debate about where the Siberian unicorn, with all the other members of the Elastrotherium genus, suitable for the rhinoceros evolutionary tree. The former group was separated from the modern rhino group about 43 million years ago, making the Siberian unicorn the last species of a very distinctive and ancient lineage.
The results of the study were published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
Ends
Notes to editors
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