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The okapi is sometimes referred to as a living fossil, as it has existed as a species over a long geological time period, and morphologically resembles more primitive forms (e.g. Samotherium). [16] [23] In 2016, a genetic study found that the common ancestor of giraffe and okapi lived about 11.5 million years ago. [24]
The Giraffidae are a family of ruminant artiodactyl mammals that share a recent common ancestor with deer and bovids.This family, once a diverse group spread throughout Eurasia and Africa, presently comprises only two extant genera, the giraffe (between one and eight, usually four, species of Giraffa, depending on taxonomic interpretation) and the okapi (the only known species of Okapia).
Samotherium was a particularly important transitional fossil in the giraffe lineage, as the length and structure of its cervical vertebrae were between those of a modern giraffe and an okapi, and its neck posture was likely similar to the former's. [9] Bohlinia, which first appeared in southeastern Europe and lived 9–7 mya, was likely a ...
A common ancestor between giraffes and okapi emerged an estimated 11.5 mya. The closest living relative to both giraffes and okapi outside of Africa is the North American pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) of the Antilocapridae, in which it is the sole extant species.
Samotherium major (middle) in comparison with the okapi (below) and giraffe. The anatomy of Samotherium appears to have shown a transition to a giraffe-like neck. S. major and S. boissieri. A 2015 study found that Samotherium had a neck intermediate in length between the giraffe and the okapi, judging from examination of specimens of S. major ...
Giraffoidea is a superfamily that includes the families Climacoceratidae, Prolibytheriidae, and Giraffidae.The only extant members in the superfamily are the giraffes and okapi.
Giraffomorpha is a clade of pecoran ruminants containing the superfamilies Palaeomerycoidea (Palaeomerycidae) and Giraffoidea (Giraffidae, Prolibytheriidae and Climacoceratidae), of which the giraffe and okapi of the Giraffidae are the only extant members of the once-diverse clade as a result of a decline in diversity after the Miocene as a result of declines in temperatures.
They are found only in the Giraffidae and closely related extinct clades, [4] represented in modern animals by the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) and the okapi (Okapia johnstoni). Pronghorns are similar to horns in that they have keratinous sheaths covering permanent bone cores; however, these sheaths are deciduous and can be shed like ...