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Some call it the “Siberian unicorn”. Some call it a rhino with a really big horn. Either way, scientists thought it had been extinct for over 350,000 years--but a new discovery has changed that date considerably. This new research is published in the American Journal of Applied Science by Andrei Shpansky and colleagues at Tomsk State University in Russia.
Elasmotherium sibiricum has been known as the Siberian unicorn from its sizable horn, although it was truly just a lumbering rhinoceros, similar looking to ones living today. Its mighty keratin sheathed horn was likely multiple feet long, causing its unicorn-like image. The date of its last appearance has been vague despite it being present at dozens of fossil sites in Eurasia, but it appears rumors of its demise during the Middle Pleistocene had been greatly exaggerated. A new radiocarbon date on a fragment of Elasmotherium skull discovered in Kazakhstan gives an age of ~29,000 BC, meaning it survived over 300,000 more years than originally thought.
How did this rhino survive so long in the as the climate of its habitat became increasingly harsh? Lead author Andrei Shpansky posits: "Most likely, the south of Western Siberia was a refugium, where this rhino persevered the longest in comparison with the rest of its range. There is another possibility that it could migrate and dwell for a while in the more southern areas."
Specimens of E. sibiricum have been found that were up to 15 feet long and weighed between 8,000-10,000 pounds, but sadly the specimen dated here was incomplete so its full size is unknown. Further investigation into the extinction of Pleistocene megafauna like the Siberian unicorn will help scientists understand how and why these animals went extinct, potentially helping to explain how climate change can impact biodiversity of large animals.
