Giant Unicorn Fossil range: Pleistocene
Conservation status
Extinct (fossil)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Perissodactyla Family: Rhinocerotidae Genus: Elasmotherium Species: E. sibiricum
Binomial name
Elasmotherium sibiricum J. Fischer, 1809

The Giant Unicorn (Elasmotherium sibiricum) ("Siberian Thin-Plate Beast") was a giant rhinoceros which stood two meters high and six meters (20 feet) long, with a single two-meter-long (7 feet) horn in the forehead. The animal may have weighed up to 5 tonnes. Its legs were longer than those of other rhinos and were designed for galloping, giving it a horse-like gait. It was probably a fast runner, in spite of its size. Its teeth were similar to those of horses, and it probably grazed low herbs. The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) is part of the geologic timescale. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1110x902, 1220 KB) Summary My reconstruction of the Giant Unicorn rhinoceros, Elasmotherium sibiricus Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Three small ammonite fossils, each approximately 1. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Animalia redirects here. ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Subclasses Allotheria* Order Multituberculata (extinct) Order Volaticotheria (extinct) Order Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Order Triconodonta (extinct) Prototheria Order Monotremata Theria Infraclass Marsupialia Infraclass Eutheria The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in females for the nourishment of young, from mammary glands present on most species... Families Equidae Tapiridae Rhinocerotidae The odd-toed ungulates or Perissodactyla are large to very large browsing and grazing mammals with relatively simple stomachs and a large middle toe. ... Species Ceratotherium simum Dicerorhinus sumatrensis Diceros bicornis Rhinoceros unicornis A rhinoceros is any of five surviving species of odd-toed ungulate in the family Rhinocerotidae. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Johann Fischer von Waldheim Johann Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim (Grigorij Ivanovitsch Fischer von Waldheim in Russian) (October 13, 1771 – October 18, 1853) was a German anatomist, entomologist and paleontologist. ... Genera Ceratotherium Dicerorhinus Diceros Rhinoceros Coelodonta (extinct) Elasmotherium (extinct) Height Comparison of Extant Rhinoceros Species. ... A tonne (also called metric ton) is a non-SI unit of mass, accepted for use with SI, defined as: 1 tonne = 103 kg (= 106 g). ...

E. sibiricum lived in Southern Russia, Ukraine and Moldova during the Early Pleistocene. It appeared during the Late Pliocene in Central Asia. Its origin appears to be connected to the genus Sinotherium. E. inexpectatum and E. peii inhabited Eastern China during the Upper Pliocene - Lower Pleistocene. They disappeared approximately 1.6 Ma. The earliest records of Elasmotherium species in Russia are known from the Upper Pliocene assemblages near the Black Sea. E. caucasicum was widely distributed in this area between 1.1 Ma and 0.8 Ma. The more advanced E. sibiricum appeared in the Middle Pleistocene. It occupied all of the southwestern part of Russia, reaching eastward to western Siberia. Elasmotherians persisted in eastern Europe until the end of the Middle Pleistocene. Early Pleistocene (also known as Lower Pleistocene, or Calabrian) is a stage of the Pleistocene Epoch. ... The Pliocene epoch (spelled Pleiocene in some older texts) is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5. ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ... For other uses of the word, please see Genus (disambiguation). ... Sinotherium was a genus of single-horned rhinoceri of Pliocene China ancestral to Elasmotherium Category: ... The Lower Pleistocene or Early Pleistocene is the earlier part of the Pleistocene Epoch from the beginning at about 1. ... Mega-annum, usually abbreviated as Ma, is a unit of time equal to one million years. ... NASA satelite image of the Black Sea Map of the Black Sea The Black Sea is an inland sea between southeastern Europe and Anatolia that is actually a distant arm of the Atlantic Ocean by way of the Mediterranean Sea. ... The Middle Pleistocene is the central part of the Pleistocene Epoch from about 780,000 YA to the penultimate cold pulse at about 125,000 YA. Millions of Years Categories: Graphical timelines | Geology stubs | Pleistocene ...

Morphological peculiarities of elasmotherians have generated two main hypotheses concerning their appearance and the character of their habitat. The first, most widely accepted view which was also described above, portrays them as large woolly animals with a large forehead horn that thrived on an open steppe. Fossils of the horn, however, have not been found. The other view assigns elasmotherians to riparian biotopes. It is probable that elasmotherians dwelt in both riparian and steppe biotopes. The riparian biotope is suggested by dental and skull morphology. The combination of such characters as the absence of canines and strongly developed lateral processes of the atlas implies lateral movements of the head, presumably for grasping grass. The hypsodont dentition indicates presence of mineral grains in the food. Such food could be obtained by pulling out dense plants from the moist soil. These conditions are typical for riparian biotopes. On the other hand, a steppe biotope is indicated by their rather long and slender limbs, which would have served well for creatures grazing over vast areas. Habitat (from the Latin for it inhabits) is the place where a particular species lives and grows. ... A riparian zone schematic from the Everglades. ... A biotope is a region environmentally uniform in conditions and in the flora and fauna which live there. ... A steppe in Western Kazakhstan in early spring In physical geography, a steppe (Russian: - , Ukrainian: - , Kazakh: - ), pronounced in English as , is a plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally considered as being dominated by tall grasses... A biotope is a region environmentally uniform in conditions and in the flora and fauna which live there. ... Especially high-crowned teeth, which provides lots of extra material for wear and tear. ...

Historical Witnesses

Elasmotherium probably died out in prehistoric times. However, according to the Nordisk familjebok and to space scientist Willy Ley, the animal may have survived long enough to be remembered in the legends of the Evenk people of Russia as a huge black bull with a single horn in the forehead. The Owl Edition Nordisk familjebok (en. ... Willy Ley (October 2, 1906 - June 24, 1969) was a science writer and space advocate who helped popularise rocketry and spaceflight in Germany and the United States in the early-mid twentieth century. ... The Evenks (obsolete: Tungus, autonym: Эвэнки) are a nomadic Tungusic people, one of the Northern Indigenous Peoples (pop. ...

There is also a testimony by the medieval traveller Ibn Fadlan, who is usually considered a reliable source, which indicates that Elasmotherium may have survived into historical times. Ahmad ibn-al-Abbas ibn Rashid ibn-Hammad ibn-Fadlan (Aḥmad ʿibn alʿAbbās ʿibn Rasẖīd ʿibn ḥammād ʿibn Fadlān أحمد ابن العبا&#1587...

Ibn Fadlan's account states:

There is nearby a wide steppe, and there dwells, it is told, an animal smaller than a camel, but taller than a bull. Its head is the head of a ram, and its tail is a bull’s tail. Its body is that of a mule and its hooves are like those of a bull. In the middle of its head it has a horn, thick and round, and as the horn goes higher, it narrows (to an end), until it is like a spearhead. Some of these horns grow to three or five ells, depending on the size of the animal. It thrives on the leaves of trees, which are excellent greenery. Whenever it sees a rider, it approaches and if the rider has a fast horse, the horse tries to escape by running fast, and if the beast overtakes them, it picks the rider out of the saddle with its horn, and tosses him in the air, and meets him with the point of the horn, and continues doing so until the rider dies. But it will not harm or hurt the horse in any way or manner.

The locals seek it in the steppe and in the forest until they can kill it. It is done so: they climb the tall trees between which the animal passes. It requires several bowmen with poisoned arrows; and when the beast is in between them, they shoot and wound it unto its death. And indeed I have seen three big bowls shaped like Yemen seashells, that the king has, and he told me that they are made out of that animal’s horn.

Some have argued that the survival of Elasmotherium into historical times may be the source of the unicorn myth, as the animal's description fits well with the Persian karkadann unicorn, and the Chinese zhi unicorn. An ell, when used as a unit of length, is usually 45 inches, i. ... The unicorn (from Latin unus one and cornus horn) is a mythical beast. ... Persian (Local names: فارسی Fârsi or پارسی Pârsi)* is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan as well as by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... The Karkadann (Lord of the Desert) was a mythical unicorn-like creature said to live on the grassy plains of India, Persia and North Africa. ...

Reference

• N.G. Noskova "Elasmotherians - evolution, distribution and ecology" The World of Elephants - International Congress, Rome 2001