Bovidae and Giraffidae from the Baynunah Formation

Study of new and previously discovered remains indicates the presence of at least three giraffid and eight bovid species in the Baynunah Formation. Among giraffids, the most significant new find is a partial skeleton attributed to Palaeotragus aff. germaini. A large sivathere and possibly Samotherium boissieri are also present. Bovids include Pachyportax latidens, Miotragocerus cyrenaicus, Afrotragus libycus, Prostrepsiceros vinayaki, and two indeterminate small species. Separation of postcranial material into broad size categories reveals an additional giraffid and two bovid species not represented by cranial remains. Though small in number, the Baynunah bovid and giraffid assemblage is as rich in species as late Miocene sites at Lothagam or in the Siwaliks. All identified genera and species are otherwise known from eastern Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, or southern Asia. The richness of the community, combined with the lack of any obvious endemics, suggests that large mammal assembly in the Baynunah Formation may have relied in large part on dispersals from nearby regions following the appearance of humid conditions over the Arabian Peninsula. Such a pattern of climatically-induced local extirpation followed by re-establishment might have characterized much of Arabia’s late Neogene history, continuing into the Pleistocene and the present day.