Helladotherium

Abstract: The suid remains from Akkasdagi, late Miocene of Central Anatolia (Turkey), represent the widespread, long-ranging, and polymorphic species Microstonyx major (Gervais, 1848). The rich material represents at least 10 individuals, two of which are juveniles, and comprises both postcranial and craniodental material, including one nearly complete skull. The Akkasadagi population is characterised by medium size, strong elongation of the skull, and moderate reduction of premolar size. These characteristics are shared with other populations of late middle Turolian age (MN 12). The elongation of the skull appears elsewhere to be associated with the and end of the species' ecological range.

Abstract: The various late Miocene localities around the villages of Hadjidimovo and Kalimantsi in south-western Bulgaria yielded a rich collection of giraffes, including Helladotherium duvernoyi, Bohlinia attica and Palaeotragus rouenii. These are the same species as at Pikermi, suggesting that there is no great age difference between these localities, but the limb-bones of both former species are stouter at Kalimantsi than in the Greek site, a difference which is perhaps of ecological origin. The absence of Samotherium, known in the geographically close sites of Greek Macedonia might be a consequence of the isolation of the river basins.