Читать книгу Unicornucopia: The Little Book of Unicorns - Caitlin Doyle - Страница 11

NICKNAMED THE

‘Siberian unicorn’,

ELASMOTHERIUM SIBIRICUM IS THOUGHT TO HAVE LIVED ALONGSIDE HUMANS 26,000 YEARS AGO. A HAIRY

prehistoric rhinoceros with a large horn,

THIS ANIMAL’S SKELETON COULD HAVE BEEN MISTAKEN FOR A UNICORN’S.

OTHER ANIMALS MISTAKEN FOR

unicorns

THROUGHOUT HISTORY INCLUDE THE

Indian rhinoceros, narwhal, antelope, and wild ox.

NICKNAMED ‘SEA UNICORNS’,

narwhals

HAVE LONG BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH UNICORNS. WHILE THESE

small Arctic whales

SEEM OTHERWORLDLY, THEY ARE DEFINITELY REAL.

FIG. 1

FIG. 2

Narwhals are small whales,

USUALLY FOUND IN THE ICY WATERS OF NORTHERN CANADA AND NORTHWESTERN GREENLAND. A MALE NARWHAL CAN WEIGH UP TO 1.8 TONNES (2 TONS) AND GROW UP TO 6 METRES (20 FEET) LONG. LIKE THEIR COUSINS, THE ORCA AND DOLPHIN,

narwhals travel in large groups and eat mainly fish and shrimp.

THE STRAIGHT, TWISTED TUSK OF THE NARWHAL IS ACTUALLY

a long tooth

THAT CAN MEASURE UP TO 3 METRES (10 FEET) LONG IN MALES, GROWING THROUGH THE UPPER LIP. (FEMALE NARWHALS CAN ALSO GROW A VERY SMALL TUSK.) THE NARWHAL TUSK ALWAYS GROWS