Abstract
We are describing and figuring for the first time skulls of Schansitherium tafeli, which are abundant in the Gansu area of China from the Late Miocene. They were animals about the size of Samotherium with shorter necks that had two pairs of ossicones that merge at the base, which is unlike Samotherium. The anterior ossicones consist of anterior lineations, which may represent growth lines. They were likely mixed feeders similar to Samotherium. Schansitherium is tentatively placed in a very close position to Samotherium. Samotherium and Schansitherium represent a pair of morphologically very similar species that likely coexisted similarly to pairs of modern species, where the main difference is in the ossicones. Pairs of ruminants in Africa, for example, exist today that differ mostly in their horn shape but otherwise are similar in size, shape, and diet. The absence of Schansitherium from Europe is interesting, however, as Samotherium is found in both locations. While is it challenging to interpret neck length and ossicone shape in terms of function in combat, we offer our hypothesis as to how the two species differed in their fighting techniques.
Highlights
Giraffidae are Pecora ruminants [1]
Since 1922, several skulls and numerous postcranial specimens have been attributed to Schansitherium tafeli and Samotherium boissieri that have been found in North China
We provide the first detailed description of Schansitherium tafeli, and we compare this taxon to Samotherium boissieri
Summary
Giraffidae are Pecora ruminants [1]. There are approximately twenty-five species of Giraffidae, two extant and the rest are extinct [2,3]. Schansitherium tafeli is a giraffid from the late Miocene (Beodian age) of North China [2, 13,14]. It is a fairly abundant species in North China and is represented by complete cranial and postcranial material, it has not yet been figured nor studied in detail. Since 1922, several skulls and numerous postcranial specimens have been attributed to Schansitherium tafeli and Samotherium boissieri that have been found in North China. Of the various Samotherium species, we chose Samotherium boissieri to compare with Schansitherium tafeli, based on similarities between the skulls, dentitions and postcranial elements of the two taxa [18,19]. Schansitherium tafeli are abundant in the Dashengou Fauna and Yangjiashan Fauna, dated at about 8–10 Ma
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