Description
The long creature would have superficially resembled an okapi or a deer. Unlike these, however, ''Prolibytherium'' displayed dramatic sexual dimorphism, in that the male had a set of large, leaf-shaped ossicones with a width of , while the female had a set of slender, horn-like ossicones. The taxonomic status of ''Prolibytherium'' remains in flux. At one time, it was described as a relative of ''Sivatherium'' (as a precursor to "Libytherium maurusium" (''S. maurusium'')). Later, it would be regarded as a Palaeomerycidae, palaeomerycid, or either as a Climacoceratidae, climacoceratid, or as a basal member of Giraffoidea. With the discovery and study of a female skull in 2010, ''Prolibytherium'' is tentatively confirmed as a climacoceratid. A recent study published in 2022 found it to be part of a separate family, Prolibytheriidae.References
External links
* Prehistoric Artiodactyla genera Enigmatic mammal taxa Miocene mammals of Africa Fossils of Egypt Fossils of Libya Miocene mammals of Asia Fossils of Pakistan Fossil taxa described in 1961 {{Paleo-eventoedungulate-stub