Palaeotragus

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
See text

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:

• Palaeotragus germaini
• Palaeotragus primaevus

References[]

Further reading[]

External links[]

• Media related to Palaeotragus at Wikimedia Commons

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