Unicorns walked the Earth more recently than believed

Attention unicorn lovers: The fantastical creature isn’t a myth.

Well, you might know that already, as scientists have long been familiar with the Siberian Unicorn, classified as Elasmotherium sibiricum.But a new discovery shows the species died out “only” 29,000 years ago, not 350,000 as had been believed, according to Science Alert.

This new discovery, it reports — based off findings published in the American Journal of Applied Scientists — is thanks to a well-preserved skull found in Kazakhstan, and its age was determined by the dating technique called radiocarbon. It’s still unclear why the species died off.

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By the way, this is no lithe, springy creature. The Siberian Unicorn is said to resemble a very shaggy rhinoceros with a pretty major horn on it’s head. In other words, the thing was a beast.

@slisker is a student at Ithaca College and a USA TODAY College digital producer.