Fun Helladotherium Facts For Kids

Helladotherium was a species of giraffid that lived during the Miocene age. They could have been observed in parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe, and upon the discovery of fossils, paleontologists have only been able to create an almost complete skeleton of a female Helladotherium.

Read on to know more about Helladotherium.

How do you pronounce 'Helladotherium'?

The phonetic pronunciation of 'Helladotherium' is 'Hell-a-do-thi-ri-um'.

What type of dinosaur was a Helladotherium?

Helladotherium was an extinct genus of giraffe, Sivatherine Giraffid, that belonged to the family of Giraffidae.

In which geological period did the Helladotherium roam the Earth? 

Helladotherium roamed the Earth during the Miocene period, around 23-5 million years ago.

When did the Helladotherium become extinct?

Helladotherium lived during the Miocene age around 23-5 million years ago. Hence, they might have gone extinct during the impact event that created the Karakul crater during the Miocene age.

Where did Helladotherium live?

Only two species of Helladotherium have been found to date - Helladotherium grande and Helladotherium duvernoyi. Both species lived in Asia, Africa, and Europe, but the isolated Helladotherium grande specimen has only been discovered in Pakistan.

What was the Helladotherium's habitat?

Around 95% of today's plant life existed by the end of the Miocene age. This habitat was perfect for grazing animals like Helladotherium.

Who did the Helladotherium live with?

It's not known whether Helladotherium lived isolated lives or in groups. However, modern giraffes that belong to the same family, Giraffidae as Helladotherium, live in herds. It's assumed that Helladotherium also lived in groups.

How long did a Helladotherium live?

It's not known how long Helladotherium lived, but the average lifespan of giraffes is about 26 years.

How did they reproduce?

Helladotherium was viviparous in nature. This means that they went through a gestation period and gave birth to live young giraffids when it ended.

What did the Helladotherium look like?

Helladotherium looked much like modern-day horses and donkeys. The giraffids with narrow and extended long necks came much later. These animals were quadrupedal and had long muzzles. They had fur on their body but did not have any pattern, unlike modern-day giraffes.

How many bones did a Helladotherium have?

Paleontologists could create an almost complete skeleton of a female Helladotherium, but the exact number of bones they had is not known. Modern-day giraffes have a total of 170 bones, so giraffids previously might have had a similar number of bones.

How did they communicate?

It's not known how they communicated, but they might have communicated in a similar way to modern-day giraffes, who communicate with each other through body language and by making low-frequency sounds.

How big was the Helladotherium?

A fully developed Helladotherium was about 13 ft (4 m) in length and about 5.9-7.5 ft (1.79-2.2 m) in height. They were much less tall in height in measurements than modern-day giraffes, who are about 14-18.7 ft (4.2-5.7 m) in height.

How fast could a Helladotherium move?

It's not known at what pace Helladotherium moved, but they probably moved at a moderate pace.

How much did a Helladotherium weigh?

Helladotherium was about 551-1323 lb (250-600 kg) in weight.

What were the male and female names of the species?

Males and the females of the genus had no specific names.

What would you call a baby Helladotherium?

A baby Helladotherium was called a juvenile.

How aggressive were they?

It's not known whether Helladotherium was aggressive or not. They might have acted aggressively when they felt threatened or in danger.

Did You Know…

According to the morphological features of Helladotherium, their evolution leads to modern-day giraffes. These mammals were most probably alive till the early Pleistocene age. The presence of some of their remains was found in northern Greece, and their morphology led them to the upper Miocene age. The geological setting of this extinct animal of the giraffid taxa is still being discovered.

*We've been unable to source an image of Helladotherium and have used an image of Edmontosaurus instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Helladotherium, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected]

*We've been unable to source an image of Helladotherium and have used an image of Lesothosaurus instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Helladotherium, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected]