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Climacoceratidae
Climacoceratidae is a family of superficially deer-like artiodactyl ungulates which lived in the Miocene epoch in Africa. They are close to the ancestry of giraffes, with some genera, such as ''Prolibytherium'', originally classified as giraffes. The climacoceratids, namely members of what is now the type genus ''Climacoceras'', were originally placed within the family Palaeomerycidae, and then within Giraffidae. In 1978, W. R. Hamilton erected a new family, placing it close to Giraffidae within the superfamily Giraffoidea. They differ from giraffes in that their antler-like ossicone Ossicones are columnar or conical skin-covered bone structures on the heads of giraffes, male okapi, and some of their extinct relatives. Ossicones are distinguished from the superficially similar structures of horns and antlers by their uniqu ...s are derived from different bones. References * MacInnes, D. G. 1936, "A new genus of fossil deer from the Miocene of Africa", Journal of the Linne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palaeotragus
''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 ossicone Ossicones are columnar or conical skin-covered bone structures on the heads of giraffes, male okapi, and some of their extinct relatives. Ossicones are distinguished from the superficially similar structures of horns and antlers by their uniqu ...s. It was also the smaller species, being a little under at the shoulders. ''P. germaini'' had a pair of ossicones, and in life, it would have resembled either a short-necked, tall giraffe, or a gargantuan okapi. Species The genus consists of the following species: * '' Palaeotragus decipiens'' * '' Palaeotragus germaini'' * '' Palaeotragus microdon'' * '' Palaeotragus pri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20% of its land area.Sayre, April Pulley (1999), ''Africa'', Twenty-First Century Books. . With billion people as of , it accounts for about of the world's human population. Africa's population is the youngest amongst all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Despite a wide range of natural resources, Africa is the least wealthy continent per capita and second-least wealthy by total wealth, behind Oceania. Scholars have attributed this to different factors including geography, climate, tribalism, Scramble for Africa, colonialism, the Cold War, neocolonialism, lack of democracy, and corruption. Despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic expansion and the large and young ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miocene First Appearances
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern marine invertebrates than the Pliocene has. The Miocene is preceded by the Oligocene and is followed by the Pliocene. As Earth went from the Oligocene through the Miocene and into the Pliocene, the climate slowly cooled towards a series of ice ages. The Miocene boundaries are not marked by a single distinct global event but consist rather of regionally defined boundaries between the warmer Oligocene and the cooler Pliocene Epoch. During the Early Miocene, the Arabian Peninsula collided with Eurasia, severing the connection between the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, and allowing a faunal interchange to occur between Eurasia and Africa, including the dispersal of proboscideans into Eurasia. During the la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Climacoceratidae
Climacoceratidae is a family of superficially deer-like artiodactyl ungulates which lived in the Miocene epoch in Africa. They are close to the ancestry of giraffes, with some genera, such as ''Prolibytherium'', originally classified as giraffes. The climacoceratids, namely members of what is now the type genus ''Climacoceras'', were originally placed within the family Palaeomerycidae, and then within Giraffidae. In 1978, W. R. Hamilton erected a new family, placing it close to Giraffidae within the superfamily Giraffoidea. They differ from giraffes in that their antler-like ossicone Ossicones are columnar or conical skin-covered bone structures on the heads of giraffes, male okapi, and some of their extinct relatives. Ossicones are distinguished from the superficially similar structures of horns and antlers by their unique ...s are derived from different bones. References * MacInnes, D. G. 1936, "A new genus of fossil deer from the Miocene of Africa", Journal of the Linne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ossicone
Ossicones are columnar or conical skin-covered bone structures on the heads of giraffes, male okapi, and some of their extinct relatives. Ossicones are distinguished from the superficially similar structures of horns and antlers by their unique development and a permanent covering of skin and fur. Structure Giraffe ossicones consist of a highly vascularized and innervated bone core covered with vascularized and innervated skin. The base of an ossicone is attached to the skull with vascularized innervated connective tissue. Ossicones are formed at late gestation, but in early development they are not bony and not fused to the skull yet. Ossicones usually fuse to the skull at sexual maturity. All male and female giraffes have a pair of parietal ossicones on the parietal bones of the skull. Males also usually have a single median ossicone on the frontal bone that is larger in northern animals and smaller in southern giraffes. Giraffes can also have small additional paired occipi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antler
Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the Cervidae (deer) family. Antlers are a single structure composed of bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels. They are generally found only on males, with the exception of reindeer/caribou. Antlers are shed and regrown each year and function primarily as objects of sexual attraction and as weapons. In contrast to antlers, horns—found on pronghorns and bovids, such as sheep, goats, bison and cattle—are two-part structures that usually do not shed. A horn's interior of bone is covered by an exterior sheath made of keratin (the same material as human fingernails and toenails). Etymology Antler comes from the Old French ''antoillier '' (see present French : "Andouiller", from'' ant-, ''meaning before,'' oeil, ''meaning eye and'' -ier'', a suffix indicating an action or state of being) possibly from some form of an unattested Latin word ''*anteocularis'', "before the eye ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giraffoidea
Giraffoidea is a superfamily that includes the families Climacoceratidae, Antilocapridae, and Giraffidae. The only extant members in the superfamily are the pronghorn, giraffe, and okapi. The Climacoceratidae are also placed in the superfamily, but were originally placed within the family Palaeomerycidae. Classification * Superfamily Giraffoidea ** Family † Climacoceratidae *** †'' Climacoceras'' *** †'' Orangemeryx'' *** †'' Prolibytherium'' *** †'' Propalaeoryx'' *** †'' Nyanzameryx'' *** †'' Sperrgebietomeryx'' ** Family Antilocapridae *** '' Antilocapra'' *** †'' Capromeryx'' *** †'' Ceratomeryx'' *** †'' Cosoryx'' *** †'' Hayoceros'' *** †'' Hexameryx'' *** †'' Hexobelomeryx'' *** †'' Ilingoceros'' *** †'' Meryceros'' *** †'' Merycodus'' *** †'' Osbornoceros'' *** †'' Ottoceros'' *** †'' Paracosoryx'' *** †'' Plioceros'' *** †'' Proantilocapra'' *** †'' Ramoceros'' *** †'' Sphenophalos'' *** †'' Stockoceros'' *** †'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palaeomerycidae
The Palaeomerycidae are an extinct family of ruminants in the order Artiodactyla. Palaeomerycids lived in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia from 33 to 4.9 million years ago (from the Late Eocene to Pliocene epochs), existing for about 28 million years; one species was also reported from South America, but its identity as a palaeomerycid was subsequently disputed. Specimens of ''Amphitragulus'', the earliest known genus, have been found in Aragon (Spain), Ronheim (Germany), Sardinia (Italy), France, and Kazakhstan and range from 33 to 15.97 million years old. Fossils of ''Lagomeryx'' and '' Palaeomeryx feignouxi'' were recovered in Germany and Slovakia from the Middle Eocene. The oldest known North American specimen, '' Barbouromeryx'', was discovered in Scotts Bluff, Nebraska, and estimated at 23.03 million years old. Palaeomerycids such as ''Cranioceras'' and other Dromomerycinae continued to live in North America until the early Pliocene. Description Palaeomerycids w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giraffidae
The Giraffidae are a family of ruminant artiodactyl mammals that share a common ancestor with deer 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. Taxonomy Evolutionary background The giraffids are ruminants of the clade Pecora. Other extant pecorans are the families Antilocapridae ( pronghorns), Cervidae (deer), Moschidae (musk deer), and Bovidae ( cattle, goats and sheep, wildebeests and allies, and antelopes). The exact interr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern marine invertebrates than the Pliocene has. The Miocene is preceded by the Oligocene and is followed by the Pliocene. As Earth went from the Oligocene through the Miocene and into the Pliocene, the climate slowly cooled towards a series of ice ages. The Miocene boundaries are not marked by a single distinct global event but consist rather of regionally defined boundaries between the warmer Oligocene and the cooler Pliocene Epoch. During the Early Miocene, the Arabian Peninsula collided with Eurasia, severing the connection between the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, and allowing a faunal interchange to occur between Eurasia and Africa, including the dispersal of proboscideans into Eurasia. During the la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. :E.g. '' Panthera leo'' (lion) and '' Panthera onca'' (jaguar) are two species within the genus ''Panthera''. ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomists. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: # monophyly – all descendants of an ancestral taxon are grouped together (i.e. phylogenetic analysis should c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ungulate
Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Ungulata which primarily consists of large mammals with hooves. These include odd-toed ungulates such as horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs; and even-toed ungulates such as cattle, pigs, giraffes, camels, sheep, deer, and hippopotamuses. Cetaceans such as whales, dolphins, and porpoises are also classified as even-toed ungulates, although they do not have hooves. Most terrestrial ungulates use the hoofed tips of their toes to support their body weight while standing or moving. The term means, roughly, "being hoofed" or "hoofed animal". As a descriptive term, "ungulate" normally excludes cetaceans as they do not possess most of the typical morphological characteristics of other ungulates, but recent discoveries indicate that they were also descended from early artiodactyls. Ungulates are typically herbivorous and many employ specialized gut bacteria to allow them to digest cellulose. Some modern species, such as pigs, are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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