Hydaspitherium

Hydaspitherium is an extinct genus of giraffid artiodactyls.[2]

Hydaspitherium
Temporal range: Late Miocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Giraffidae
Genus: †Hydaspitherium
Lydekker 1878
Species

H. megacephalum

Synonyms

Hydaspidotherium[1]

Giraffids are represented in the late Miocene of the Siwaliks by large Sivatheriinae such as Sivatherium, Bramatherium, Helladotherium, and Hydaspitherium. Hydapitherium has been proposed to be synonymous with Bramatherium. H. megacephalum is restricted to the Dhok Pathan Formation (33.6°N 72.5°E / 33.6; 72.5, paleocoordinates 30.9°N 73.9°E / 30.9; 73.9)[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
  1. "Genus Hydaspidotherium". The Taxonomicon. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved June 2013. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. Hydaspitherium in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved June 2013.
  3. Dhok Pathan Stratotype Fauna in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved June 2013.
  4. Bhatti, Khan & Akhtar 2012, Introduction
  5. Bhatti, Khan & Akhtar 2012, p. 807

References


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