Sivatherium

Cladus: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Classis: Mammalia
Subclassis: Theria
Infraclassis: Placentalia
Superordo: Cetartiodactyla
Ordo: Artiodactyla
Subordo: Ruminantia
Familia: Giraffidae
Genera: †Sivatherium

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Sivatherium ('Shiva's beast)' is an extinct genus of giraffid that ranged throughout Africa to Southern Asia (mostly India). The African species, S. maurusium, was once placed within the genus "Libytherium." It may have become extinct as recently as 8,000 years ago, as depictions of it are known from ancient rock paintings in the Sahara desert.[2]
Description

Sivatherium resembled the modern okapi, but was far larger, and more heavily built, being about 2.2 meters (7 ft 4 in) tall at the shoulder. It had a wide, antler-like pair of ossicones on its head, and a second pair of ossicones above its eyes. Its shoulders were very powerful to support the neck muscles required to lift the heavy skull.[2]
Popular culture

The Sivatherium is featured in the computer game Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals, where it is shown to live in the savannah biome.

References

1. ^ The Paleobiology Database
2. ^ a b Palmer, D., ed (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 278. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.

Further reading

* Barry Cox, Colin Harrison, R.J.G. Savage, and Brian Gardiner. (1999): The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures: A Visual Who's Who of Prehistoric Life. Simon & Schuster.
* David Norman. (2001): The Big Book Of Dinosaurs. pg. 228, Walcome books.
* After the Dinosaurs: The Age of Mammals (Life of the Past) by Donald R. Prothero
* The Evolution of Artiodactyls by Donald R. Prothero and Scott E. Foss
* Vertebrate Palaeontology by Michael J. Benton and John Sibbick
* Evolving Eden: An Illustrated Guide to the Evolution of the African Large Mammal Fauna by Alan Turner and Mauricio Anton
* Classification of Mammals by Malcolm C. McKenna and Susan K. Bell \
* The Book of Life: An Illustrated History of the Evolution of Life on Earth, Second Edition by Stephen Jay Gould
* World Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures: The Ultimate Visual Reference To 1000 Dinosaurs And Prehistoric Creatures Of Land, Air And Sea ... And Cretaceous Eras (World Encyclopedia) by Dougal Dixon
* Eyewitness: Prehistoric Life by William Lindsay
* Walker's Mammals of the World (2-Volume Set) (Walker's Mammals of the World) by Ronald M. Nowak
* Horns, Tusks, and Flippers: The Evolution of Hoofed Mammals by Donald R. Prothero and Robert M. Schoch