Giraffa jumae

Giraffa jumae is an extinct species of even-toed ungulate in the Giraffidae family. The species ranged from Malawi to Chad with a possible occurrence of the species or a closely related species found in Turkey. The type specimen was discovered during trenching excavations on the upper member of the Rawi Formation by Louis Leakey in the 1930s.^[2] The specimen was found with Ceratotherium simum, Suidae such as Metridiochoerus andrewsi, a Hippopotamus gorgops, and a nearly complete pygmy hippopotamus mandible.^[2]

Restoration of G. jumae (top left) and other ungulates from the Pliocene of eastern Africa, by Mauricio Antón

Giraffa jumae Temporal range: 5.3–0.126 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Pliocene to Pleistocene[1]
Skull
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Giraffidae
Genus:	Giraffa
Species:	†G. jumae
Binomial name
†Giraffa jumae Leakey, 1967

The species is considered a possible ancestor to the modern giraffes.^[3]

References

1. Giraffa jumae, The Paleobiology Database
2. Frost, Stephen R.; Plummer, Thomas; Bishop, Laura C.; Ditchfield, Peter; Ferraro, Joseph; Hicks, Jason (2003), "Partial Cranium of Cercopithecoides kimeui Leakey, 1982 From Rawi Gully, Southwestern Kenya", American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 122 (3): 191–199, doi:10.1002/ajpa.10279, PMID 14533178
3. Simmons, R. E.; Scheepers, L. (1996), "Winning by a neck: sexual selection in the evolution of giraffe", The American Naturalist, 148 (5): 771–786, doi:10.1086/285955, S2CID 84406669