Finding The Skull Reveals The Mystery Of The Last “Unicorn” In Siberia: Archaeologists Rejoice
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Scientists have recently discovered a 29,000-year-old skull, revealing the unexpected mystery of the last one-horned unicorn that once lived on Earth in Siberia.
Several decades ago, scientists estimated that the Siberian unicorn, a mammal that looked more like a rhino than a mythical unicorn, was long extinct, about 350,000 years ago.
However, scientists recently discovered an intact, well-preserved skull in the Pavlodar region, Kazakhstan, which has completely changed the above reasoning.
Using the radiocarbon method, a team at Tomsk State University (Kazakhstan) discovered that the Siberian unicorn was actually still alive up to 29,000 years ago.
This shows that this strange creature turned out to be around here some tens of thousands of years ago. Of course, it also doesn’t quite match the unicorn images in the pages of children’s books.
Accordingly, the real-life Siberian unicorn, scientifically known as Elasmotherium sibiricum, has a gray appearance, very large size and looks quite similar to today’s rhinoceros.
According to the initial analysis and description, the Siberian unicorn is about 2 meters tall when standing, about 4.5 meters long and weighs up to 4 tons. It was huge, closer in size to a mammoth than a horse.
The Siberian unicorn looks quite like a modern rhinoceros when it has only one of the largest horns, protruding from its forehead. However, the unicorn’s horn is elongated and pointed, which is different from the large horn of a rhinoceros.
Interestingly, although the Siberian unicorn has a large body size, their main food is likely to be grass.
Based on the “giant” size and condition of the skull, the researchers speculated that it was most likely an older male, but the cause of this strange creature’s death is still unclear.
This has always puzzled scientists as to why this unicorn can live so much more than its contemporaries that went extinct hundreds of thousands of years ago.
Andrey Shpanski, a member of the research team, said:
“The southern region of Western Siberia is most likely a refúgium – where these unicorns were able to survive a period of unfavorable habitat such as the ice age.
Another possibility is that these mysterious creatures may have moved and inhabited areas further south.”
The team hopes the finding will help them better understand how environmental factors influence the species’ extinction, because it seems that some individuals can live much longer than thought. predictably by migrating over great distances.
In addition, understanding how animals have survived for so long and why they disappeared will also help us have more options in the future.
The study results were published in the American Journal of Applied Science.
Archaeologists find “ancient Unicorn fossils” in a remote area of the Scottish Highlands
The fossils look relatively intact, although the twisted horn may have been lost or removed on some. The exact location of the find is yet to be revealed, as further excavations of the area are planned.
Unicorns have long been associated with Scottish history and are one of Scotland’s national animals. The coat of arms of Great Britain has a picture of a Unicorn in connection with this.
There has been speculation as to why the animal appeared so widely in Scottish history (Why the Unicorn is Scotland’s national animal), although no real records or conclusive evidence exists. in.
Scientists have recently discovered a 29,000-year-old skull, revealing the unexpected mystery of the last one-horned unicorn that once lived on Earth in Siberia. Several decades ago, scientists estimated that the Siberian unicorn, a mammal that looked more like a rhino than a mythical unicorn, was long extinct, about 350,000 years ago. However, scientists recently discovered…
Scientists have recently discovered a 29,000-year-old skull, revealing the unexpected mystery of the last one-horned unicorn that once lived on Earth in Siberia. Several decades ago, scientists estimated that the Siberian unicorn, a mammal that looked more like a rhino than a mythical unicorn, was long extinct, about 350,000 years ago. However, scientists recently discovered…