Makapania fossil map
Where fossils of Makapania have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 0 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 5.333–0.774 million years ago (Zanclean to Calabrian) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Bovidae |
| Named by | Wells and Cooke 1957 |
| Fossil records | 8 occurrences at 3 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | South Africa |
| Rock formations | Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Makapansgat |
About Makapania
Makapania is an extinct genus of large caprine or ovibovine from the Pliocene and Pleistocene of southern and East Africa. It is remarkable in that its horns were positioned laterally. Its body weight is estimated to have been about 263 kg.
Makapania is thought to have been both a browser and a grazer. It probably preferred grasses, and would have required a nearby source of permanent water.
Makapania broomi has been found at Sterkfontein Members 4 and 5, Swartkrans Members 1-3, Gladysvale, Motsetse and possibly Coopers. It has been recovered from 3-million-year-old sediments in East Africa. The type specimen was found at Makapansgat. This species existed from about 3 mya until 1 mya, or perhaps more recently.
Remains of an undescribed species of either Makapania or an unnamed related genus were found in mountain areas of South Africa and dated to just the 6th millennium BCE. The final extinction of this animal could be related to the retreat of dry grasslands in southern and eastern Africa after the Last Glacial Maximum, which also affected other megafauna from this environment like the giant hartebeest Megalotragus, giant zebra Equus capensis, springbok Antidorcas bondi, and bluebuck Hippotragus leucophaeus.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Makapania (revision 1345022291), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q6738713.
