First Record of Bramatherium Falconer, 1845 (Mammalia: Giraffidae) from the Late Miocene of Greece and the Helladotherium-Bramatherium Debate

Abstract

During the Late Miocene, Bramatherium was the main representative of the giraffid subfamily Sivatheriinae in the Indian Subcontinent, with sparse and uncertain records from adjacent regions. In the present paper, we describe and compare two ossicones of the same individual, unearthed from the Upper Miocene site of Fourka in Chalkidiki Peninsula, Northern Greece, and attribute them with certain confidence to the species Bramatherium perimense. The definite record of Bramatherium so far away from the Indian Subcontinent and in close proximity to the well-known Pikermian sivatheriine Helladotherium duvernoyi enabled us to re-discuss both the intrageneric diversity of Bramatherium and the debatable Bramatherium–Helladotherium taxonomy. Our review allows us (i) to recognize only two Bramatherium species in Asia: the large-sized B. grande and the smaller B. perimense and (ii) to confirm and further support with morphological and biogeographic evidence the synonymy of Helladotherium with Bramatherium.