''Canthumeryx'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of primitive

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 ...

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. It is the close ancestor of

giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, '' Giraffa camelopardal ...

References

*''The Evolution of Artiodactyls'' by Donald R. Prothero and Scott E. Foss *''Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids'' by Jordi Agusti and Mauricio Anton *''The Mammals of the Southern African Sub-region'' by J. D. Skinner and Christian T. Chimimba *''Classification of Mammals'' by Malcolm C. McKenna and Susan K. Bell Prehistoric giraffes Miocene even-toed ungulates Miocene mammals of Africa Prehistoric even-toed ungulate genera {{paleo-eventoedungulate-stub