Data from: The extinct, giant giraffid Sivatherium giganteum – skeletal reconstruction and body mass estimation

Sivatherium giganteum is an extinct giraffid from the Plio-Pleistocene boundary of the Himalayan foothills. Despite being closely related to the extant giraffids Okapia johnstoni and Giraffa camelopardalis, Sivatherium is morphologically distinct from either of these taxa. 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 an estimate of a representative body mass for this species using a volumetric method. We find that the estimated adult body mass of 1548 kg (1058 – 2264 kg range) does not approach that of an African elephant, but confirms that Sivatherium was certainly a massive giraffid.巨西瓦兽（Sivatherium giganteum）是一种已灭绝的长颈鹿科（giraffid）动物，其化石发现于喜马拉雅山麓的上新世-更新世（Plio-Pleistocene）交界地层。尽管它与现生长颈鹿科的霍加狓（Okapia johnstoni）和普通长颈鹿（Giraffa camelopardalis）亲缘关系密切，但巨西瓦兽在形态上与这两个分类群（taxa）均存在显著差异。迄今为止，学界尚未对这种奇特的哺乳动物开展过严谨的骨骼重建研究。历史及当代的零散记载均称，巨西瓦兽的体型可与非洲象相媲美，但这一说法从未得到过验证。本研究构建了该物种的三维复合骨骼重建模型，并通过体积法（volumetric method）估算出其代表性成年个体的体重。研究结果显示，该物种成年个体的估算体重为1548千克（范围1058~2264千克），并未达到非洲象的体型级别，但证实了巨西瓦兽确实是一类体型庞大的长颈鹿科动物。