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Wang MS, Thakur M, Jhala Y, Wang S, Srinivas Y, Dai SS, Liu ZX, Chen HM, Green RE, Koepfli KP, Shapiro B. OUP accepted manuscript. Genome Biol Evol 2022; 14:6524629. [PMID: 35137061 PMCID: PMC8841465 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evac012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ming-Shan Wang
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California Santa Cruz, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, USA
- Corresponding authors: E-mails: ; ; ;
| | - Mukesh Thakur
- Zoological Survey of India, New Alipore, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
- Corresponding authors: E-mails: ; ; ;
| | | | - Sheng Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Yellapu Srinivas
- Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Shan-Shan Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Zheng-Xi Liu
- College of Animal Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Hong-Man Chen
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, China
| | - Richard E Green
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California Santa Cruz, USA
| | - Klaus-Peter Koepfli
- Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation, George Mason University, USA
- Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
- Computer Technologies Laboratory, ITMO University, St. Petersburg, Russia
- Corresponding authors: E-mails: ; ; ;
| | - Beth Shapiro
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California Santa Cruz, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, USA
- Corresponding authors: E-mails: ; ; ;
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Basu C, Falkingham PL, Hutchinson JR. The extinct, giant giraffid Sivatherium giganteum: skeletal reconstruction and body mass estimation. Biol Lett 2017; 12:20150940. [PMID: 26763212 PMCID: PMC4785933 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.0940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Sivatherium giganteum is an extinct giraffid from the Plio-Pleistocene boundary of the Himalayan foothills. To date, there has been no rigorous skeletal reconstruction of this unusual mammal. Historical and contemporary accounts anecdotally state that Sivatherium rivalled the African elephant in terms of its body mass, but this statement has never been tested. Here, we present a three-dimensional composite skeletal reconstruction and calculate a representative body mass estimate for this species using a volumetric method. We find that the estimated adult body mass of 1246 kg (857-1812 kg range) does not approach that of an African elephant, but confirms that Sivatherium was certainly a large giraffid, and may have been the largest ruminant mammal that has ever existed. We contrast this volumetric estimate with a bivariate scaling estimate derived from Sivatherium's humeral circumference and find that there is a discrepancy between the two. The difference implies that the humeral circumference of Sivatherium is greater than expected for an animal of this size, and we speculate this may be linked to a cranial shift in centre of mass.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Basu
- Structure and Motion Laboratory, Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA, UK
| | - Peter L Falkingham
- Structure and Motion Laboratory, Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA, UK School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, James Parsons Building, Bryon Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
| | - John R Hutchinson
- Structure and Motion Laboratory, Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA, UK
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Cranbrook EO, Piper PJ. Paleontology to policy: the Quaternary history of Southeast Asian tapirs (Tapiridae) in relation to large mammal species turnover, with a proposal for conservation of Malayan tapir by reintroduction to Borneo. Integr Zool 2013; 8:95-120. [PMID: 23586564 DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-4877.2012.00319.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The Southeast Asian zoogeographical region is divided into Indochinese, Sundaic and Philippine subregions. Two clades of tapirs, Tapirus spp., have been recognized in Quaternary Southeast Asia. A review of sites at which they occurred shows that representatives of both clades, one of which was the ancestral Malayan tapir Tapirus indicus, co-existed with a diversity of other Pleistocene mammal megafauna. The process of replacement of archaic large mammals was progressive and prolonged through the Quaternary. Zooarcheological investigation has extended knowledge of the former occurrence and distribution of tapirs and other large mammals of the region, with discoveries beyond the outer limits of their previously known ranges. These large mammals were subjected to paleoenvironmental changes as a consequence of the Quaternary cycles of glacial and interglacial periods. Archeological evidence suggests that hunting pressure has intensified the effects of altered environments, leading ultimately to the local disappearance of the Malayan tapir in most of Southeast Asia, including Borneo. The survival of the Malayan tapir through the Quaternary until the present shows that the species is both resilient to environmental change and flexible in its ecological re'uirements and, given proper protection, could continue to inhabit tropical Southeast Asia. To assist the species conservation, reintroduction is proposed from the remaining range of Malayan tapir in the wild, to suitable sites of past occurrence in Borneo, where these ancient survivors of the Quaternary megafauna can be accommodated and safeguarded alongside other forms of land usage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Earl Of Cranbrook
- Great Glemham House, Saxmundham, UKSchool of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, Canberra, AustraliaArchaeological Studies Program, Palma Hall, Diliman 1101, Quezon City, Philippines
| | - Philip J Piper
- Great Glemham House, Saxmundham, UKSchool of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, Canberra, AustraliaArchaeological Studies Program, Palma Hall, Diliman 1101, Quezon City, Philippines
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