| Fun Facts: | - Sivatherium giganteum (See-va-fear-ree-um) – An enormous, extinct member of the giraffe family. Fossils are known from the Siwalik Hills of the Indian subcontinent. Unlike today’s long-necked giraffe, Sivatherium had a shorter, sturdier neck and a deep, barrel-chested frame, suited to browsing in woodland and river-margin habitats. Males bore two pairs of ossicones: a small pair just above the eyes, and a second, much larger, wing-like (palmate) pair set towards the back of the skull. Mass estimates vary, but recent research suggests adult males could exceed 1.25 tonnes, making Sivatherium giganteum the heaviest ruminant mammal known to science.
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