Miocene Giraffid Species Had Two Pairs of Ossicones

Paleontologists in Pakistan have unveiled a new genus and species of prehistoric giraffe relative from the Miocene epoch.

Life reconstruction of ancient giraffids. Image credit: Apokryltaros / CC BY 3.0.

Bramiscus micros lived in what is now northern Pakistan around 9 million years ago (Miocene epoch).

The prehistoric species was an early member of Giraffidae, a large family of ruminant artiodactyl mammals that share a common ancestor with deer and bovids and include living giraffes and okapi.

Bramiscus micros was a small-sized giraffid with most likely two pairs of ossicones (horn-like protuberances) on its head.

“Bramiscus micros had most likely two pairs of ossicones that differ from other Early and Middle Miocene giraffids and giraffomorphs ossicones in size, orientation, and ornamentation,” Dr. María Ríos from the Universidade Nova de Lisboa and her colleagues wrote in their paper.

The cranial, dental, and postcranial remains of Bramiscus micros came from the fossil site of Dhok Bun Amir Khatoon (Chinji Formation) located in the Chakwal district, Punjab, Pakistan. Additional remains were identified from the Hasvard Siwaliks Collection.

“Early Miocene giraffids are less diverse and abundant than during the later Miocene, with most of the evidence coming from the Chinji Formation of Pakistan,” the paleontologists wrote.

“There are also giraffid fossils from Kalodirr, Loperot, and Moruorot Hill at the Lothidok Formation of West Turkana in Kenya, as well as Rusinga Island in the Hiwegi Formation, Kenya, and from Gebel Zelten, Libya.”

“The only known Early Miocene genera are Progiraffa and Canthumeryx,” they added.

“By the Middle Miocene, there are several additional species (e.g., Giraffokeryx, Giraffa) and an adaptive radiation had occurred, with several more giraffid species appearing in the Chinji Formation in Pakistan, in Fort Ternan, Kenya, as well as in Chios, Greece, and more occurrences from Africa and Middle East.”

Bramiscus micros coexisted at the same time with other giraffids, such as Progiraffa exigua, Giraffokeryx punjabiensis, Giraffa priscilla, Giraffa punjabiensis, and other still unnamed species.

“Our material represents the earliest record of giraffids with true ossicones in the Indian subcontinent,” the researchers concluded.

Their paper was published online in the journal Palaeontologia Electronica.

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María Ríos et al. 2024. A new giraffid Bramiscus micros nov. gen. nov. sp. (Ruminantia, Giraffidae) from the Miocene of northern Pakistan. Palaeontologia Electronica 27 (2): a29; doi: 10.26879/1243

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