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Giraffidae

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Description

The Giraffidae are a family of ruminant artiodactyl mammals that share a common ancestor with cervids and bovids. This family, once a diverse group spread throughout Eurasia and Africa, presently comprises only two extant genera, the giraffe (one or more species of Giraffa, depending on taxonomic interpretation) and the okapi (the only known species of Okapia). Both are confined to sub-Saharan Africa: the giraffe to the open savannas, and the okapi to the dense rainforest of the Congo. The two genera look very different on first sight, but share a number of common features, including a long, dark-coloured tongue, lobed canine teeth, and horns covered in skin, called ossicones.

From Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giraffidae, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Source Data

Source	ID	Link
Global Biodiversity Information Facility ID (GBIF)	5299	https://www.gbif.org/species/5299
PaleoBioDB ID (PBDB)	42690	https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=42690

Rank

family

Taxonomy (GBIF)

Life : Animalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Artiodactyla : Giraffidae

Taxonomy (PBDB)

Life : Animalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Artiodactyla : Giraffidae

Taxonomic Status (GBIF)

accepted

Classification
(PBDB,GBIF)

Rank	Name	Author
-	Eukaryota
-	Opisthokonta	Cavalier-Smith 1987
kingdom	Animalia
-	Triploblastica	Lankester 1877
-	Nephrozoa	Jondelius et al. 2002
-	Deuterostomia	Grobben 1908
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1847
subphylum	Vertebrata	Lamarck 1801
superclass	Gnathostomata	Gegenbauer 1874
-	Osteichthyes
-	Sarcopterygii	Romer 1955
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha
-	Tetrapoda
-	Reptiliomorpha	Säve-Söderbergh 1934
-	Anthracosauria	Säve-Söderbergh 1934
-	Batrachosauria
-	Cotylosauria
-	Amniota	Haeckel 1866
-	Synapsida	Osborn 1903
-	Therapsida
infraorder	Cynodontia
-	Epicynodontia	Hopson and Kitching 2001
infraorder	Eucynodontia	Kemp 1982
-	Probainognathia	Hopson 1990
-	Mammaliamorpha	Rowe 1988
-	Mammaliaformes	Rowe 1988
class	Mammalia	Linnaeus 1758
subclass	Tribosphenida
infraclass	Eutheria
order	Ungulata
order	Artiodactyla	Owen 1848
-	Ruminantiamorpha	Spaulding et al. 2009
-	Ruminantia
-	Pecora
family	Giraffidae	Gray 1821

Common Name

giraffe

Scientific Name

Giraffidae

Name Published In

London Med. Repos. vol.15 p.307

Opinions (PBDB)

Name	Rank	Opinion	Evidence	Author
Giraffidae	family	belongs to Ruminantes	stated without evidence	Gray, 1821
Giraffidae	family	belongs to Pecora	stated without evidence	Flower, 1883
Giraffidae	family	belongs to Pecora	stated with evidence	Matthew, 1908
Giraffidae	family	belongs to Ruminantia	stated without evidence	Gregory, 1910
Giraffidae	family	belongs to Giraffoidea	stated without evidence	Hamilton, 1978
Giraffidae	family	belongs to Cervoidea	implied	Carroll, 1988
Giraffidae	family	belongs to Artiodactyla	implied	Nowak, 1991
Giraffidae	family	belongs to Cervoidea	stated without evidence	Khan and Sarwar, 2002
Giraffidae	family	belongs to Pecora	stated with evidence	Hassanin and Douzery, 2003
Giraffidae	family	belongs to Pecora	stated without evidence	Agnarsson and May-Collado, 2008
Giraffidae	family	belongs to Pecora	stated with evidence	Spaulding et al., 2009
Giraffidae	family	belongs to Giraffoidea	stated without evidence	Harris et al., 2010
Giraffidae	family	belongs to Artiodactyla	stated without evidence	Cregut-Bonnoure and Tsoukala, 2017

Status (PBDB)

extant

Taxon Size (PBDB)

Extant Size (PBDB)

7 (9.5%)

First Recorded Appearance

23.0 - 16.0 Ma
Miocene

Environment

terrestrial (based on Artiodactyla)

Motility

actively mobile (based on Osteichthyes)

Diet

browser

Reproduction

viviparous

Ecospace Comments

life habit and diet based on Nowak 1999

Taphonomy

phosphatic (based on Vertebrata)

Primary Reference (PBDB)

J. E. Gray. 1821. On the natural arrangement of vertebrose animals. The London Medical Repository Monthly Journal and Review 15:296-310

Common Name(s)

Giraffe, Giraffes

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giraffidae

External Images

Fossil Distribution

Subtaxa

Name	Status	Common Name(s)	Fossil Occurrences	Oldest	Youngest
Bohlininae ✝ subfamily	listed (PBDB)
Canthumerycinae ✝ subfamily	listed (PBDB)		10	23.0 Ma Miocene	13.8 Ma Miocene
Giraffinae ✝ subfamily	listed (PBDB)		11	13.8 Ma Miocene	2.59 Ma Pleistocene
Giraffokerycinae ✝ subfamily	listed (PBDB)		15	23.0 Ma Miocene	11.6 Ma Miocene
Okapiinae ✝ subfamily	listed (PBDB)
Sivatheriinae ✝ subfamily	listed (PBDB)		137	23.0 Ma Miocene	0.78 Ma Pleistocene
Giraffini tribe	listed (PBDB)		260	23.0 Ma Miocene	0 Ma Extant
Okapini tribe	listed (PBDB)		5	5.33 Ma Miocene	0 Ma Extant
Birgerbohlinia ✝ genus	doubtful (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		1	16.0 Ma Miocene	16.0 Ma Miocene
Bohlinia ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		14	11.6 Ma Miocene	7.25 Ma Miocene
Bramatherium ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		2	11.6 Ma Miocene	9.70 Ma Miocene
Canthumeryx ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		9	23.0 Ma Miocene	13.8 Ma Miocene
Decennatherium ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		2	11.6 Ma Miocene	9.70 Ma Miocene
Giraffa genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)	Giraffe	260	23.0 Ma Miocene	0 Ma Extant
Giraffokeryx ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		15	23.0 Ma Miocene	11.6 Ma Miocene
Helladotherium ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		25	23.0 Ma Miocene	8.70 Ma Miocene
Honanotherium ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		5	11.6 Ma Miocene	8.70 Ma Miocene
Hydaspitherium ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		2	11.6 Ma Miocene	11.6 Ma Miocene
Indratherium ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		1	2.59 Ma Pleistocene	2.59 Ma Pleistocene
Libytherium ✝ genus	doubtful (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		10	23.0 Ma Miocene	2.59 Ma Pleistocene
Okapia genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)	Okapi	5	5.33 Ma Miocene	0 Ma Extant
Palaeogiraffa ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		3	11.6 Ma Miocene	9.70 Ma Miocene
Palaeotragus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		78	16.0 Ma Miocene	2.59 Ma Pleistocene
Progiraffa ✝ genus	doubtful (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		15	23.0 Ma Miocene	13.7 Ma Miocene
Propalaeomeryx ✝ genus	doubtful (GBIF) listed (PBDB)
Samotherium ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		33	13.8 Ma Miocene	5.33 Ma Miocene
Sivatherium ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		105	23.0 Ma Miocene	0.78 Ma Pleistocene
Umbrotherium ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		2	11.6 Ma Miocene	8.70 Ma Miocene
Vishnutherium ✝ genus	doubtful (GBIF) listed (PBDB)
Zarafa genus	accepted (GBIF)	No associated record in PBDB

Synonymy List

Year	Name and Author
1821	Giraffidae Gray p. 307
1883	Giraffidae Flower p. 185
1891	Giraffidae Flower and Lydekker p. 90
1908	Giraffidae Matthew p. 561
1910	Giraffidae Gregory p. 466
1911	Giraffidae Jaekel p. 234
1978	Giraffidae Hamilton p. 185
1988	Giraffidae Carroll
1991	Giraffidae Nowak
2002	Giraffidae Khan and Sarwar p. 140
2003	Giraffidae Hassanin and Douzery
2008	Giraffidae Agnarsson and May-Collado p. 974 figs. Fig. 2
2009	Giraffidae Spaulding et al.
2010	Giraffidae Harris et al. p. 800
2017	Giraffidae Cregut-Bonnoure and Tsoukala
1821	Giraffidae Gray p. 307
1883	Giraffidae Flower p. 185
1891	Giraffidae Flower and Lydekker p. 90
1908	Giraffidae Matthew p. 561
1910	Giraffidae Gregory p. 466
1911	Giraffidae Jaekel p. 234
1978	Giraffidae Hamilton p. 185
1988	Giraffidae Carroll

Year	Name and Author
1991	Giraffidae Nowak
2002	Giraffidae Khan and Sarwar p. 140
2003	Giraffidae Hassanin and Douzery
2008	Giraffidae Agnarsson and May-Collado p. 974 figs. Fig. 2
2009	Giraffidae Spaulding et al.
2010	Giraffidae Harris et al. p. 800
2017	Giraffidae Cregut-Bonnoure and Tsoukala
1821	Giraffidae Gray p. 307
1883	Giraffidae Flower p. 185
1891	Giraffidae Flower and Lydekker p. 90
1908	Giraffidae Matthew p. 561
1910	Giraffidae Gregory p. 466
1911	Giraffidae Jaekel p. 234
1978	Giraffidae Hamilton p. 185
1988	Giraffidae Carroll
1991	Giraffidae Nowak
2002	Giraffidae Khan and Sarwar p. 140
2003	Giraffidae Hassanin and Douzery
2008	Giraffidae Agnarsson and May-Collado p. 974 figs. Fig. 2
2009	Giraffidae Spaulding et al.
2010	Giraffidae Harris et al. p. 800
2017	Giraffidae Cregut-Bonnoure and Tsoukala

References

Gray J. E. On the natural arrangement of vertebrose animals, The London Medical Repository Monthly Journal and Review 15, 296-310

Flower W. H. On the arrangement of the Orders and Families of existing Mammalia, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1883, 178-186

Matthew W. D. (1908) Osteology of Blastomeryx and phylogeny of the American Cervidae, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 24 27, 535-562

Gregory W. K. (1910) The orders of mammals, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 27, 1-524

Jaekel O. (1911) , Die Wirbeltiere. Eine Übersicht über die Fossilen und Lebenden Formen [The Vertebrates. An Overview of the Fossil and Living Forms], viii-252

Hamilton W. R. (1978) Fossil giraffes from the Miocene of Africa and a revision of the phylogeny of the Giraffoidea, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B 283 996, 165-229

Carroll R. L. (1988) , Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution, 1-698

Nowak R. M. (1991) Walker's Mammals of the World, Maryland, Johns Hopkins University Press (edited volume) II

Khan A. A., Sarwar M. (2002) A new Indratherium fossil giraffe Indratherium compressus sp. nov. from Siwalik Formations of Pakistan, Journal of Research (Science) 13 2, 139-144

Hassanin A., Douzery E. J. P. (2003) Molecular and morphological phylogenies of Ruminantia and the alternative position of the Moschidae, Systematic Biology 52 2, 206-228

Agnarsson I., May-Collado L. J. (2008) The phylogeny of Cetartiodactyla: The importance of dense taxon sampling, missing data, and the remarkable promise of cytochrome b to provide reliable species-level phylogenies, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 48, 964-985

Spaulding M., O'Leary M. A., et al (2009) Relationships of Cetacea (Artiodactyla) among mammals: Increased taxon sampling alters interpretations of key fossils and character evolution, PloS One 4 9, e7062

Harris J. H., Solounias N., et al (2010) Giraffoidea, Cenozoic Mammals of Africa, 797-811

Cregut-Bonnoure E., Tsoukala E. (2017) The Pliocene Artiodactyla and Proboscidea (Mammalia) from Gephyra (lower Axios valley, Macedonia, Greece). Discovery of a new boselaphine, Quaternary International doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2016.10.022

Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds., 2005: null. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 3rd ed., vols. 1 & 2. 2142. - via Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)

Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds., 1992: null. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 2nd ed., 3rd printing. xviii + 1207. - via Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)

Benton, M.J. (ed). (1993). The Fossil Record 2. Chapman & Hall, London, 845 pp. - via The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera

Parker, S.P. (ed). (1982). Synopsis and Classification of Living Organisms. McGraw-Hill, New York. 2 volumes. - via The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera

Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!

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