Climacoceratidae
Sign in to saveClimacoceratidae 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, but later found to have been of entirely different families.
Wikidata facts
- Parent taxon
- Giraffoidea
- Image
- Climacoceras gentryi e.jpg
Show 6 more facts
- taxon rank
- family
- topic's main category
- Category:Climacoceratidae
- taxon name
- Climacoceratidae
- Commons category
- Climacoceratidae
- taxon author citation
- Hamilton, 1978
- time period
- Miocene
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Encyclopedic overview
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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, but later found to have been of entirely different families.
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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Climacoceratidae” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.