Giraffidae (Mammalia) de la fin du Néogène de la République de Macédoine (ARYM)

Excavations undertaken in several sites of the Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) during the last decades have yielded rich mammalian faunas, including some significant giraffid specimens. An almost complete and uncrushed skull from the upper Miocene of Kirokuçuk is the best known specimen of Bohlinia attica; it confirms that this taxon is closely related to Giraffa, even though it is more primitive than the African forms of the latter genus. Helladotherium is represented by cranial and limb-bone remains. The association of these two genera is also found in Bulgaria and at Pikermi in Greece. Cranial elements, including most of a posterior horn, are assigned to a new species of Sivatherium, probably of Pliocene age, and characterized by its huge posterior horns. Its presence implies faunal connections between Southern Europe, Southern Asia and Africa at that time.