Sivatherium

Sivatherium
Temporal range: Late Miocene to Early Pleistocene, 7–0.8 Ma
Skeleton of S. giganteum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Giraffidae
Subfamily: †Sivatheriinae
Genus: †Sivatherium
Falconer & Cautley, 1836[1][2]
Type species
†Sivatherium giganteum
Falconer & Cautley, 1836
Species
  • †S. giganteum
  • †?S. hendeyi Harris, 1976
  • †S. maurusium
Synonyms

†Libytherium

Sivatherium ("Shiva's beast", from Shiva and therium, Latinized form of Ancient Greek θηρίον - thēríon) is an extinct genus of giraffid that ranged throughout Africa and Eurasia. The species Sivatherium giganteum is, by weight, one of the largest giraffids known, and also one of the largest ruminants of all time.[3]

Sivatherium originated during the Late Miocene (around 7 million years ago) in Africa and survived through to the late Early Pleistocene (Calabrian) until around 1 million years ago.[4]

  1. ^ Sivatherium in the Paleobiology Database
  2. ^ Falconer, Hugh; Cautley, P. T. (1836). "Sivatherium giganteum, a new fossil ruminant genus, from the valley of the Markanda, in the Sivalik branch of the Sub-Himalayan Mountains". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal: 38–50.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Fossilworks: Sivatherium". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 17 December 2021.