Just when you thought you couldn’t live in a fantasy world , Italy has something to renew your hope. In this article, you will learn about a fascinating discovery in the animal kingdom. A pretty old fossil linking fish to walking creatures has also been uncovered this month.
A single-horned ‘unicorn’ deer has been found in the country this month , a deer with a single horn protruding from the center of its head. Looking very much like the majestic mythical creature, the unicorn , this spark of the imagination has been seen by park officials in a natural preserve in Italy.
The animal in question is a one-year Roe Deer that has been nicknamed “Unicorn” and was born in captivity at a research center park located in the Tuscan town of Prato , pretty close to Florence. The deer is thought to have been born with a genetic mishap, as his twin has two horns. Many researchers are saying that this is the first time they have encountered such a case.
The unicorn has been revered as a symbol of hope and majesty. The horse-like creature is believed to possess magical healing powers and has found a place in many legends and stories that have taken place throughout history. The notion of the unicorn has graced the pages of ancient texts and medieval tales.
Single-horned deer are pretty rare, but not completely unheard of. What has researchers abuzz is the positioning of the horn on the deer, which is unusually centralized. Most anomalies display a horn that in on one particular side of the head. While genetics may played a role in the single-horned deer, some researchers suggest that its positioning could have taken place as a result of early head trauma.
Most Primitive Four-Legged Creature Fossil Discovered
This month, scientists have uncovered the skull of one of the most primitive four-legged creatures found in the history of the Earth. Hopefully, taking a look at this fossil can help researchers better understand the evolution of fish into more advanced animals that were able to walk on land. The fossil skull is dated at 365 million years old and is accompanied by shoulders and a piece of the pelvis.
The name of this water-bound creature is Ventastega curonica, where its remains were uncovered in Latvia. While the evolutionary lineage of this creature may produce quite a few dead ends, the finding still sheds new details on how fish transitioned into tetrapods, which possessed four limbs. In this category of creatures, descendants like birds, amphibians, and mammals are also found.
Other discoveries have been made in regards to this find. Earlier, a slightly older animal (resembling more of a fish than a tetrapod) was unearthed.
Ventastega is a menacing looking creature that researchers believe swam through shallow waters. Its length was pinpointed at three to four feet long. His diet probably consisted of other fish. His limbs are often described as stubby and it is unknown just how many digits it possessed. Some researchers state that the Ventastega looked much like a small-sized alligator from afar. With a closer examination, you would detect a fin on its back. This intriguing find is pretty old, as its existence is recorded at more than 100 million years before the first dinosaurs ever set foot on Earth.