Palaeotragus
Temporal range:
Skeletal mount, Tianjin Natural History Museum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Giraffidae
Genus: Palaeotragus
[1]
Type species
Palaeotragus rouenii
Gaudry, 1861
Species
  • P. inexspectatus (Samson & Radulesco, 1966)
  • P. microdon
  • P. coelophrys
  • P. berislavicus

Palaeotragus ("ancient goat") is a genus of very large, primitive, okapi-like giraffids from the Miocene of Africa and Eurasia.

Palaeotragus primaevus is the older species, being found in early to mid-Miocene strata, while P. germaini is found in Late Miocene strata. P. primaevus is distinguished from P. germaini by the lack of ossicones. It was also the smaller species, being a little under 2 m (6 ft 7 in) at the shoulders. P. germaini had a pair of ossicones, and in life, it would have resembled either a short-necked, 3 m (9.8 ft) tall giraffe, or a gargantuan okapi.

Species

P. microdon fossil

The genus consists of the following species:

References

Further reading

  • Gaudry, Albert (1861). "Paléontologie. — Résultats des fouilles entreprises en Grèce sous les auspices de l'Académie". Comptes-rendus de l'Académie des Sciences. Vol. 53. Paris. p. 239. OCLC 469002103.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)


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