Giraffokeryx
| Giraffokeryx Temporal range: Miocene,
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|---|---|
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| Skull of G. punjabiensis (YPM VP 013943) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Giraffidae |
| Genus: | †Giraffokeryx Pilgrim 1910[1] |
| Type species | |
| †Giraffokeryx punjabiensis Pilgrim, 1910
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| Species | |
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Giraffokeryx is an extinct genus of medium-sized giraffids known from the Miocene of the Indian subcontinent and Eurasia. It is distinguished from other giraffids by the four ossicones on its head; one pair in front of the eyes on the anterior aspect of the frontal bone and the other behind the eyes in the frontoparietal region overhanging the temporal fossae. It has a brachydont dentition like in other giraffids and its legs and feet are of medium length.[2] Giraffokeryx is considered monotypic by most authors, in the form of G. punjabiensis, but other species have been assigned to the genus:
- G. chinjensis was assigned to the genus, but later included within the extinct species Giraffa priscilla. The distribution of this latter species and G. punjabiensis indicates that the Himalayas still did not act as a barrier for faunal dispersal during the middle Miocene.[3]
- G. anatoliensis, a partial skull with a postorbital horn and isolated teeth from Turkey, had shorter and less inclined horns than G. punjabiensis.[4]
Giraffokeryx resembled either an okapi or a small giraffe. It is a possible ancestor of both.[5]
Palaeoecology
Dental mesowear analysis shows that G. punjabiensis was a browsing herbivore.[6][7]
References
- ^ Giraffokeryx in the Paleobiology Database retrieved June 2013
- ^ Bhatti, Z. H.; Khan, Muhammad Akbar; Khan, A. M.; Akhtar, Muhammad; Ghaffar, A.; Iqbal, M.; Ikram, T. (December 2012). "Giraffokeryx (Artiodactyla: Mammalia) remains from the lower Siwaliks of Pakistan" (PDF). Pakistan Journal of Zoology. 44 (6): 1623–1631. 824419715.
- ^ Bhatti et al. 2012, pp. 1628–9
- ^ Geraads, Denis; Aslan, F. (2003). "Giraffidae from the middle Miocene hominoid locality of Çandır (Turkey)" (PDF). Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg (240). 695125429.
- ^ Mitchell, G.; Skinner, J. D. (2003). "On the origin, evolution and phylogeny of giraffes Giraffa camelopardalis" (PDF). Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. 58 (1): 51–73. Bibcode:2003TRSSA..58...51M. doi:10.1080/00359190309519935. S2CID 6522531.
- ^ Asim, Muhammad; Khan, Muhammad Akbar; Abbas, Sayyed Ghyour; Nawaz, Muhammad Khalil; Babar, Muhammad Adeeb; Ahmed, Qudeer; Mahmood, Khalil; Akhtar, Muhammad (April 2025). "Mesowear analysis and paleodiets of Middle Miocene artiodactyls from Chakwal, Punjab, Pakistan" (PDF). Taiwania. 70 (2): 1–8. doi:10.6165/tai.2025.70. Retrieved 18 September 2025 – via ResearchGate.
- ^ Nawaz, M. K.; Aftab, Kiran; Khan, Muhammad A.; Abbas, Syed G.; Asim, M.; Babar, Muhammad A.; Hussain, Mubashar; Akhtar, M. (7 January 2022). "MESOWEAR AND PALEODIETS OF MIDDLE MIOCENE MAMMALS FROM CHABBAR SYEDAN, PUNJAB, PAKISTAN". The Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences. 32 (1): 60–68. doi:10.36899/JAPS.2022.1.0402. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
Further reading
Pilgrim, G. E. (1910). "Notices of new mammalian genera and species from the Tertiaries of India". Records of the Geological Survey of India. 40 (1): 63–71.