Sivatherium

Sivatherium; Temporal range: Late Miocene to Early Pleistocene, 7–0.8 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Miocene Plio. Plei.
	Reconstructed skeleton (missing lower jaw and tail) of Sivatherium giganteum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Giraffidae
Subfamily:	†Sivatheriinae
Genus:	†Sivatherium; Falconer & Cautley, 1836
Type species
	†Sivatherium giganteum; Falconer & Cautley, 1836
Species
	†S. giganteum; †?S. hendeyi Harris, 1976; †S. maurusium?;
Synonyms
	†Libytherium?

Sivatherium ("Shiva's beast", from Shiva and therium, Latinized form of Ancient Greek θηρίον - thēríon) is an extinct genus of giraffid that lived in India, Pakistan, Chad, Kenya, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Morocco, South Africa, Malawi, Kazakhstan, Spain, Tajikistan, Tanzania and Uganda. The species Sivatherium giganteum is, by weight, one of the largest giraffids known, and also one of the largest ruminants of all time. Sivatherium originated during the Late Miocene (around 7 million years ago) in Africa and survived through to the late Early Pleistocene (Calabrian) until around 1 million years ago.

Description

Sivatherium resembled the modern okapi, but was far larger, and more heavily built, being about 2.2 m (7.2 ft) tall at the shoulder, 3 m (9.8 ft) in total height with a weight up to 400–500 kg (880–1,100 lb). A newer estimate has come up with an estimated average body mass of about 1,246 kg (2,747 lb), with a range of 857–1,812 kg (1,889–3,995 lb). This would make Sivatherium one of the largest known ruminants, rivalling the modern giraffe and the largest bovines. Sivatherium had a wide, antler-like pair of ossicones on its head, and a second pair of ossicones above its eyes. Its shoulders were very powerful to support the neck muscles required to lift the heavy skull. Sivatherium was initially misidentified as an archaic link between modern ruminants and the now obsolete, polyphyletic "pachyderms" (elephants, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses and tapirs). The confusion arose in part due to its graviportal (robust) morphology, which was unlike anything else studied at that time.

Palaeobiology

A dental wear analysis of S. hendeyi from the Early Pliocene of South Africa found that the teeth were brachyodont, but had a higher hypsodonty than a giraffe, and that it was best classified as a mixed feeder, being able to both graze and browse. Analysis of dental microwear and mesowear paired with δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O measurements of S. maurusium from Ahl al Oughlam in western Morocco show it predominantly fed on C₃ vegetation.

Palaeopathology

The osteohistology of S. hendeyi specimens from the Langebaanweg site in South Africa shows numerous interruptions in growth related to extended, non-cyclical stress events likely related to drought, fire, or flooding that decreased food availability.

Paleoecology

Locations of fossils

Fossils attributed to Sivatherium are known from several localities in Eurasia and Africa.

Species	Formation	Country	Continent
Sivatherium maurusium	Hadar Formation	Ethiopia	Africa
	Koobi Fora	Kenya
	Nkondo Formation	Rwanda
Sivatherium giganteum	Tatrot Formation	India	Asia
	Pinjor Formation		Asia
	Karewa formation		Asia
	Nagrota Formation		Asia
Sivatherium hendeyi	Varswater Formation	South Africa	Africa
	Kanapoi Formation	Kenya	Africa
	Toros-Menalla (TM 266)	Chad	Africa
	Cigarron Formation	Spain	Europe
Sivatherium sp.	Chiwondo Beds	Malawi	Africa
	FLK I-Level 13	Tanzania	Africa
	Wembere-Manonga Formation	Tanzania	Africa
	Kaiso Village Formation	Uganda	Africa
	Konso	Ethiopia	Africa
	Adu-Asa Formation		Africa
	Bouri-Hata		Africa
	Douaria	Tunisia	Africa
	Lissasfa	Morocco	Africa
	Pinjor Formation	Pakistan	Asia
	Kuruksay	Tajikistan	Asia
	Pavlodar	Kazakhstan	Asia

Locations of some Sivatherium fossil discoveries, yellow represent S. giganteum, white represent S. hendeyi and orange represents Sivatherium sp.

Relationship with humans

Remains of Sivatherium from Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, dating to around 1.35 million years ago have been found associated with stone tools and bearing cut marks, indicating butchery by archaic humans, likely Homo erectus. Historically, it has been suggested that figurines from Sumer and ancient rock paintings in the Sahara and Central West India represent Sivatherium. However, these claims are not substantiated by fossil evidence (which suggest that the genus was extinct long before the emergence of modern humans), and the depictions likely represent other animals.

References

↑ Sivatherium in the Paleobiology Database
↑ Falconer, Hugh; Cautley, P. T. (1836). "Sivatherium giganteum, a new fossil ruminant genus, from the valley of the Markanda, in the Sivalik branch of the Sub-Himalayan Mountains". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal: 38–50.
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