Paleontologists discover fossils indicating that 'terrifying' unicorns might have actually existed

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published 29 March 2016

Unicorns might have actually walked the earth with humans, according to new fossils discovered and reported in the American Journal of Applied Sciences. The so-called "Siberian unicorn" fossils discovered in Kazakhstan are 29,000 years old; the first Homo sapiens evolved nearly 200,000 years ago, according to scientists.

Previously paleontologists believed that horned horse-like animals had all died out over 350,000 years ago, before people were ever around. Now a new Elasmotherium sibiricum skull fossil discovered in Kazakhstan has them reconsidering.

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The Elasmotherium sibiricum likely outlasted other horned mammals because Western Siberia could have provided isolation from unknown environmental factors that wiped out "unicorns" elsewhere. "Most likely, the south of Western Siberia was a [refuge], where this rhino had preserved the longest in comparison with the rest of the range," the study's author, Tomsk State University scientist Andrei Shpansky, said.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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