Megalotragus fossil map
Where fossils of Megalotragus 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 million years ago to the present (Zanclean to Holocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Bovidae |
| Named by | van Hoepen 1932 |
| Fossil records | 146 occurrences at 58 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Kenya, South Africa, Malawi, Tanzania |
| Rock formations | Koobi Fora, Nachukui, txn:42742, Swartkrans, Chiwondo, Mbuga Clays |
About Megalotragus
Megalotragus (from Greek mega (μέγα) 'great' and tragos (τράγος) 'goat') is an extinct genus of very large African alcelaphines that lived from the Pliocene to early Holocene. Its skull resembled that of modern hartebeests, but it differed in having a larger body size and wildebeest-like proportions. Megalotragus includes some of the largest bovid species in the subfamily Alcelaphinae, reaching a shoulder height of 1.4 m (4.6 ft). The genus consists of three species of which Megalotragus priscus survived until the early Holocene 7.500 C14yBP.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Megalotragus (revision 1338169286), 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: Q3012079.
