Samotherium
| Samotherium | |
|---|---|
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| Samotherium skull | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Giraffidae |
| Genus: | †Samotherium Forsyth Major, 1888 |
| Species | |
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Samotherium ("beast of
legs. The ossicones usually pointed upward, and were curved backwards, with males having larger, more curved ossicones, though in the Chinese species, S. sinense, the straight ossicones point laterally, not upwards. The genus is closely related to Shansitherium. Fossil evidence suggests that Samotherium had a rounded muzzle, which would suggest a grazing lifestyle and a habitat composed of grassland. One common predator of this animal was the Amphimachairodus.[2]
Biologist Richard Ellis has proposed that the skull of Samotherium is portrayed on an ancient Greek vase as a monster that Heracles is fighting.[3] However, other authors have argued that it is more likely to be the skull of a monitor lizard instead.[4]
Description
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 from Greece.[5]
References
- ^ a b "†Samotherium Forsyth Major 1888". Paleobiology Database. Fossilworks. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ISBN 0-7894-8984-8.
- ISBN 0-06-055804-0.
- ISSN 2215-3470.
- PMID 26716010.
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