Sivatherium fossil map
Where fossils of Sivatherium have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 5 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 5 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 | 23.04–0.0117 million years ago (Aquitanian to Late Pleistocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Giraffidae |
| Named by | Falconer and Cautley 1836 |
| Fossil records | 72 occurrences at 28 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Ethiopia, South Africa, Chad, Tanzania, India, Kenya, Malawi, Pakistan, Uganda, Morocco … |
| Rock formations | txn:42690, Varswater, Tatrot, Olduvai, Chiwondo, Wembere-Manonga |
About Sivatherium
Sivatherium ("Shiva's beast", from Shiva and therium, Latinized form of Ancient Greek θηρίον - thēríon) is an extinct genus of giraffid that lived in India, Pakistan, Chad, Kenya, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Morocco, South Africa, Malawi, Kazakhstan, Spain, Tajikistan, Tanzania and Uganda. The species Sivatherium giganteum is, by weight, one of the largest giraffids known, and also one of the largest ruminants of all time. Sivatherium originated during the Late Miocene (around 7 million years ago) in Africa and survived through to the late Early Pleistocene (Calabrian) until around 1 million years ago.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Sivatherium (revision 1378654882), 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: Q899506.
