The Antecedents

Giraffes are ruminant artiodactyls and their evolutionary origin can be traced back to the origin of the first artiodactyls about 55 million years ago. Their link to the first artiodactyls depended on the discovery and study of giraffe fossils. The first of those were uncovered in India and, later, in North Africa, the latter bringing recognition that the evolution of modern giraffes had occurred in Africa. The study of fossils was supplemented by simultaneous biological and biochemical studies of giraffes. The combination has allowed the creation of lineage of antecedents starting with a Dichobunid that lived in the Eocene era 55 million years ago, through Hypertragulids and Leptomerycidsof the Eocene, to the Gelocids of the Oligocene and early Miocene. The Gelocids can be regarded as the key ancestral family of all ruminant artiodactyls. From Gelocids arose the sister group of giraffes, the Climacoceratids, and also the Canthumerycids from which giraffes evolved.