What animal in this world has teeth that are more valuable? You'll definitely think of ivory.
But what you may not know is that there is such an animal's tooth, which in medieval Europe can be said to be hard to find. One of its teeth can even be exchanged for a magnificent castle. Even if it is as precious as ivory, it is not precious in front of it.
Exquisite crafts carved from ivory
And this animal is the most arrogant animal in the ocean, the narwhal.
Narwhals have a very strange horn that looks like they are holding a spear, so they are also known as horned whales or spear whales.
In fact, the horns on their foreheads are not really horns, they are actually their teeth.
Mysterious sea creatures holding spears
In general, narwhals have two teeth on either side of their jaws, and the left tooth will continue to grow, just like caries, and eventually emerge from the upper lip, thus forming this shape. Its tooth can be more than 3 meters long and weigh up to 10 kilograms.
And the amazing thing is that only a male whale can grow such a strange tooth.
Only male narwhals have long horns
Not only do they have strange teeth, but in the mouth of humans, narwhals have always been a legendary mysterious animal.
In the legends of the Viking Vikings, they are a kind of marine unicorn in the North Atlantic. They are mysterious and come and go without a trace. People have not seen them with their own eyes.
Therefore, according to the human imagination of unicorns, they are considered to be a kind of one-horned horse that lives in the sea. And people have not given up looking for them.
In 1577, the English explorer Martin Frobisher, while his expedition was exploring the waters of northern Canada, encountered a unicorn monster. And this has set off a wave of people looking for narwhals.
The narwhal in the eyes of the Vikings is a horse with a one-horn
Because they were so mysterious, Europeans at the time believed that its unicorn had magical effects.
Doctors at the time believed that their horns could not only cure diseases, but even revive the dead.
Alchemists also believe that their horns can test poison, and when they encounter toxic substances, they will burst into black foam. In order to prevent poisoning, european aristocrats made their unicorns into wine glasses and other tableware.
And the more absurd rumor is that their horns also have the effect of "Viagra".
After their hype, the price of the horns of narwhals soared, even ten times more expensive than the price of gold.
I want to have the ability to pay money!
In the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth of England once bought the horn of a narwhal for 10,000 pounds. At that time, this money was completely enough to build a palatial castle, so there was a saying of "ten times gold, one city". This behavior of the Queen of England has also led monarchs from all over the world to follow suit.
The Austrian monarch, Caesar Karl V, went to ruin his fortune in order to get two unicorns, resulting in a huge deficit in the national treasury.
The Habsburg royal family of Austria also made a one-horned scepter and studded it with various rare and precious stones. Symbolizes the supremacy of imperial power.
Symbolizes the supremacy of imperial power
As the saying goes, there is no killing without buying and selling. European demand for narwhals has led to the almost extinction of the already small number of narwhals.
In fact, the horns of narwhals are like human fingernails, their main components are keratin, and there is no special substance. It was only artificially exaggerated that it was used to inflict their hand at the hands of humans.
Narwhal: Where to go!
And the most concerned question for scientists is, what is the role of their unicorns?
Scientists have a wide variety of opinions, and there are roughly the following three views:
1. Their unicorn symbolizes status, and the thicker and longer the horn, the easier it is to obtain mating rights.
2. The role of the unicorn is mainly to pierce the ice to breathe.
3. Single horns can play a role in dividing water, making them swim faster.
Easy to get priority mating rights!
It wasn't until 2002 that Dr. Martin of Harvard University finally made a surprising discovery after research.
Through the study of high-end molecular technology, it was found that the surface of their one-horn is very hard, but it still has a certain degree of softness and can be bent in any direction by 30 centimeters. At the same time, there are 10 million nerve peripheral tubes in the core part of the unicorn, and these nerve cells can detect subtle changes in temperature, pressure, and inclination, making the narwhal's insight extremely high. This horn can be said to be the sensor of the narwhal.
Not only that, but scientists have also found that when narwhals rub their horns against each other, the nerve endings in their unicorns can also produce tactile emotions, and this behavior often conveys friendship and expresses pleasure.
Moreover, the friction unicorn can also clean the attachment above, so that it can better play the function of the sensor. And this behavior is like a human brushing teeth.
Unique spiral shape
With the deterioration of the natural environment and frequent poaching, only 1,500 narwhals remain.
I hope that human beings will not hurt them for the sake of rumors and selfish desires, leave them a place to live, and do not let them disappear in this world.
#Headline Debunking ##Almighty Creator ##Narwhal##Queen of England ##动物保护 #