PAVLODAR, KAZAKHSTAN — An ancient relative of the rhinoceros described as a "Siberian unicorn" may have walked the earth alongside humans.

The giant horned beasts were thought to have become extinct 350,000 years ago. However, the discovery of a fossilised skull shows Elasmotherium sibiricum only died out 29,000 years ago, according to a study published in the American Journal of Applied Sciences.

That means the Siberian unicorn may have shared the earth with humans.

Researchers found fragments of the giant skull in the Pavlodar region of northeast Kazakhstan.

Fossils suggest the Siberian unicorn stood 2 meters tall, 4.5 meters long and weighed 4 tons, making it bigger than today's rhinos.

Researchers believe the Siberian unicorns were herbivores, according to science website Phys.org. Their habitat extended from western Russia to eastern Kazakhstan, according to the study.

Western Siberia may have been a refuge for the beasts, which allowed them to survive much longer than similar creatures, Andrei Shpanski, a paleontologist at Tomsk State University, told Phys.org.

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