Hydaspitherium
| Hydaspitherium Temporal range: Late Miocene | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Giraffidae |
| Subfamily: | Sivatheriinae |
| Genus: | Hydaspitherium Lydekker 1878 |
| Species | |
|
H. megacephalum | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Hydaspidotherium[1] | |
Hydaspitherium is an extinct genus of giraffidae.[2]
Giraffids are represented in the late Miocene of the Siwaliks by large Sivatheriinae such as Sivatherium, Bramatherium, Helladotherium, and Hydaspitherium. It has been proposed that Hydapitherium is synonymous with Bramatherium. H. megacephalum is restricted to the Dhok Pathan Formation (33°36′N 72°30′E / 33.6°N 72.5°E, paleocoordinates 30°54′N 73°54′E / 30.9°N 73.9°E)[3] in northern Pakistan.[4]
Four separate species of Hydaspitherium were described more than a century ago, but Bhatti, Khan & Akhtar 2012 concluded that their differences can be explained as sexual dimorphism and intraspecific variability: H. birmanicum (Pilgrim 1910) is based on a single right upper molar. H. grande (Lydekker 1878) and H. magnum (Pilgrim 1910) are only slightly larger than H. megacephalum and the variation in dentition does not support separate taxa. Bhatti et al. 2012 accepted two species in the Siwaliks: the smaller H. megacephalum and the larger H. grande until more material has been collected.[5]
Notes
- ↑ "Genus Hydaspidotherium". The Taxonomicon. Retrieved June 2013.
- ↑ Hydaspitherium in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved June 2013.
- ↑ Dhok Pathan Stratotype Fauna in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved June 2013.
- ↑ Bhatti, Khan & Akhtar 2012, Introduction
- ↑ Bhatti, Khan & Akhtar 2012, p. 807
References
- Bhatti, Z. H.; Khan, M. A.; Akhtar, M. (June 2012). "Hydaspitherium (Artiodactyla: Giraffidae) from the Dhok Pathan Formation of the Middle Siwaliks, Pakistan: New Collection". Pakistan Journal of Zoology 44 (3): 799–808. OCLC 798111718. Retrieved June 2013.
- Lydekker, R. (1878). "Indian tertiary and post-tertiary vertebrate. 3. Crania of ruminants". Palæontologia Indica. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India. 10 1 (3): 88–181. OCLC 20842760.
- 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.