| Palaeotragus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Skeletal mount,Tianjin Natural History Museum | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Giraffidae |
| Genus: | †Palaeotragus [1] |
| Type species | |
| †Palaeotragus rouenii Gaudry, 1861 | |
| Species | |
Palaeotragus ("ancient goat") is a genus of very large, primitive,okapi-likegiraffids from theMiocene toEarly Pleistocene ofAfrica andEurasia.
Palaeotragus primaevus is the older species, being found in early to mid-Miocene strata, whileP. germaini is found in Late Miocene strata.P. primaevus is distinguished fromP. germaini by the lack ofossicones. 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.
Palaeotragus inexspectatus from the Early Pleistocene of Greece represents the youngest giraffid in Europe.[2]
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