monoceros

An animal with a single horn on its head. It has the form of a goat, and can only be caught by means of a virgin. She is placed in a forest, with her breast uncovered, and by its smell the monosceros perceives it. It kisses her breast and then falls asleep in her lap, allowing the hunter to catch or kill it.

Pliny describes the monoceros, or licorne, as having the body of a horse, the head of a stag, the feet of an elephant, the tail of a boar, and single black horn in the middle of its head, two cubits in length.

In illustrations the unicorn and the monoceros are often similar.

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