''Hydaspitherium'' is an extinct genus of

giraffid The Giraffidae are a family of ruminant artiodactyl mammals that share a 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 (one or ...

artiodactyl The even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla , ) are ungulates—hoofed animals—which bear weight equally on two (an even number) of their five toes: the third and fourth. The other three toes are either present, absent, vestigial, or pointing poster ...

s. Giraffids are represented in the late Miocene of the

Siwaliks The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the Indi ...

by large Sivatheriinae such as ''

Sivatherium ''Sivatherium'' ("Shiva's beast", from Shiva and ''therium'', Latinized form of Ancient Greek θηρίον -'' thēríon'') is an extinct genus of giraffids that ranged throughout Africa to the Indian subcontinent. The species ''Sivatherium giga ...

'', ''

Bramatherium ''Bramatherium'' (Brahma’s beast) is an extinct genus of giraffids that ranged from India to Turkey in Asia. It is closely related to the larger ''Sivatherium''. Etymology The first part of the generic name, Brahma (Sanskrit masculine ', no ...

'', '' Helladotherium'', and ''Hydaspitherium''. ''Hydapitherium'' has been proposed to be synonymous with ''

''. ''H. megacephalum'' is restricted to the Dhok Pathan Formation (, paleocoordinates ) in northern Pakistan. Four separate species of ''Hydaspitherium'' were described more than a century ago, but concluded that their differences can be explained as sexual dimorphism and intraspecific variability: ''H. birmanicum'' () is based on a single right upper molar. ''H. grande'' () and ''H. magnum'' (Pilgrim 1910) are only slightly larger than ''H. megacephalum'' and the variation in dentition does not support separate taxa. Bhatti et al. 2012 accepted two species in the Siwaliks: the smaller ''H. megacephalum'' and the larger ''H. grande'' until more material has been collected.

Notes

References

* * * Prehistoric giraffes Prehistoric even-toed ungulate genera Extinct mammals of Asia Miocene even-toed ungulates {{paleo-eventoedungulate-stub