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Asked by gallifreyanhippo to Aled, Ellie, Fiona, Kev, Willem on 14 Mar 2014.
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Kevin Arbuckle answered on 14 Mar 2014:
It is probably possible for a ‘unicorn’ (if we think of it as a horse with a horn) to evolve, but whether it would ever actually happen is almost impossible to say. I do think it is rather unlikely though. But if we assume that there is no developmental barrier to an outgrowth of bone (for example) on the skull of a horse, then given the right mutations and strong enough selection pressure (difficult environmental conditions that favour adaptations), then I don’t see a reason why it would be impossible.
That said, we do actually have a ‘unicorn’ (in a sense) alive with us. The Indian, or one-horned, rhinoceros has the scientific name of Rhinoceros unicornis. Unicornis (and unicorn) simply means ‘one horn’, and this species of rhino has one large horn – and also looks like it is wearing a suit of armour! What’s more, rhinos are actually reasonably closely related to horses, as they are in the same group (called Perissodactyla).
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Aled Roberts answered on 17 Mar 2014:
Excellent answer by Kev!
If a rhino can evolve to have a horn then under similar circumstances it should be possible for a horse to evolve it too! (as Kev said! we need similar selection pressures!)
I think it would be much easier to get a stick on horn!
🙂
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Fiona Heesen answered on 18 Mar 2014:
What an interesting question! Like Kev and Alex said, with the right selection pressures there is no reason why a horse could not evolve and leave us with unicorns. I agree with them both though, it is probably pretty unlikely – probably your best chance to meet one is to open a book about mythical creatures 🙂
Fiona
Comments
gallifreyanhippo commented on :
That’s so cool! So if horses got a predator that they’d need to fight using a horn, and they were in that situation for centuries, then would a unicorn evolve? 😮
Kev commented on :
The best answer I can give is maybe. Evolution is not a random process but it does have a random part of it, which makes it very difficult to predict what would actually will happen. But yes, with the right selection pressure it’s certainly possible 🙂
hannahrm commented on :
wow saskia is this you? from the name i’m guessing so! I some how knew from glancing at the word unicorn this question was asked by some one I know.
Hannah m
gallifreyanhippo commented on :
Heh… Heh… Heh… Yeah, it’s me. 🙂 And guessing from the name, this is Hannah R M, right?
superkingtom commented on :
in addition to what Kevin said, with horses and rhinos being closely related, i wonder if it’s possible to cross breed the two, to make a rhinocer-horse or a unicorn
Kev commented on :
Hi superkingtom,
The one thing I would add is that although horses and rhinos are relatively closely related (in the same group of animals and only tapirs are closer to rhinos than horses), they separated about 55 million years ago. So although the two groups are quite closely related both groups are really quite old and different so I think it’s pretty safe to say that hybrids between the two are not really possible.
superkingtom commented on :
ohw……
superkingtom commented on :
(this isn’t an abbreviation, it is how i think the word would be spelt)