''Makapania'' 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 extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of large caprine or

ovibovine The subfamily Caprinae, also sometimes referred to as the tribe Caprini, is part of the ruminant family Bovidae, and consists of mostly medium-sized bovids. A member of this subfamily is called a caprine, or, more informally, a goat-antelope (a ...

from the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

of southern and East

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. It is remarkable in that its horns were positioned laterally. Its body weight is estimated to have been about 263 kg. ''Makapania'' is thought to have been both a browser and a

grazer Grazer may refer to: *grazer, an animal that grazes *Grazer, a native or inhabitant of Graz *GRAZER, the shoegaze band GRAZER Astronomy * Earth Grazer, Earth-grazing fireball that enters the Earth's atmosphere and leaves again * Mercury grazer, ...

. It probably preferred grasses, and would have required a nearby source of permanent water. ''Makapania broomi'' has been found at Sterkfontein Members 4 and 5,

Swartkrans Swartkrans is a fossil-bearing cave designated as a South African National Heritage Site, located about from Johannesburg. It is located in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site and is notable for being extremely rich in archaeological m ...

Members 1-3, Gladysvale, Motsetse and possibly Coopers. It has been recovered from 3-million-year-old sediments in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

. The type specimen was found at

Makapansgat Makapansgat () (or Makapan Valley World Heritage Site) is an archaeological location within the Makapansgat and Zwartkrans Valleys, northeast of Mokopane in Limpopo province, South Africa. It is an important palaeontological site, with the local ...

. This species existed from about 3 mya until 1 mya, or perhaps more recently. Remains of an undescribed species of either ''Makapania'' or an unnamed related genus were found in mountain areas of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and dated to just the 6th millennium BCE. The final extinction of this animal could be related to the retreat of dry

grasslands A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natural ...

in southern and eastern Africa after the

Last Glacial Maximum The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Late Glacial Maximum, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period that ice sheets were at their greatest extent. Ice sheets covered much of Northern North America, Northern Eur ...

, which also affected other

megafauna In terrestrial zoology, the megafauna (from Greek μέγας ''megas'' "large" and New Latin ''fauna'' "animal life") comprises the large or giant animals of an area, habitat, or geological period, extinct and/or extant. The most common threshold ...

from this environment like the giant

hartebeest The hartebeest (; ''Alcelaphus buselaphus''), also known as kongoni or kaama, is an African antelope. It is the only member of the genus ''Alcelaphus''. Eight subspecies have been described, including two sometimes considered to be indepen ...

Megalotragus ''Megalotragus'' was a genus of very large extinct African alcelaphines that occurred from the Pliocene to early Holocene.Thackeray, John Francis. (2015). Faunal Remains from Holocene Deposits, Excavation 1, Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa. Africa ...

'', giant

zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zeb ...

Equus capensis ''Equus capensis'' (''E. capensis''), the 'giant Cape zebra', is an extinct species of zebra that lived during the Pleistocene of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmo ...

'',

springbok The springbok (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is a medium-sized antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm v ...

Antidorcas bondi ''Antidorcas bondi'', or Bond's springbok, is an extinct species of antelope whose fossils have been found in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Description Originally described as a species of gazelle, it was found to be related to the modern springbok ...

'', and

bluebuck The bluebuck (Afrikaans: bloubok ) or blue antelope (''Hippotragus leucophaeus'') is an extinct species of antelope that lived in South Africa until around 1800. It was smaller than the other two species in its genus ''Hippotragus,'' the roan ...

''Hippotragus leucophaeus''.Faith, J.T. (2014) Late Pleistocene and Holocene mammal extinctions on continental Africa. ''Earth-Science Reviews'', 128, 105-121.

References

*Gould, S. J. ''The book of life: An illustrated history of the evolution of life on Earth. 2nd edition''. *Hilton-Barber, B. & Berger, L. R. (2004) ''Field guide to the Cradle of Humankind: Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai & Environs World Heritage Site''. Struik Publishers, Cape Town. {{Taxonbar, from=Q6738713 Prehistoric caprids Pleistocene even-toed ungulates Pliocene first appearances Pleistocene genus extinctions Pliocene even-toed ungulates Pliocene mammals of Africa Pleistocene mammals of Africa Fossil taxa described in 1957 Prehistoric even-toed ungulate genera