Palaeotragus

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

P. microdon fossil

Palaeotragus Temporal range: Miocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Skeletal mount, Tianjin Natural History Museum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Giraffidae
Genus:	†Palaeotragus Gaudry 1861[1]
Species
P. primaevus P. germaini P. microdon P. decipiens P. quadricornis P. rouenii

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.

References

1. Palaeotragus in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved May 2013.

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. 53. Paris. p. 239. OCLC 469002103.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)