Description:

The common false giraffe (Pseudogiraffa koinos) is a gigantic antelope that evolved from the gerenuk (Litocranius walleri), a tall species of antelope that lived in East Africa, which is now a subcontinent called Zinj. This current species moved to central Africa within the Holocene before Zinj broke off 30 million years before from the Novicene. The common false giraffe resulted from the extinction of the giraffe family (Giraffidae). As a result, antelopes took up most of the megafaunal niches in Africa after most megafauna species died out during the end-Epicene extinction event. This small extinction event was caused by the formation of the Medditerrean Mountains, which led to climate change and volcanic activity.  After being dominant in the herbivores during the early Mellonticocene, hoofed lagomorphs began to fill grazing ungulate niches. Near the end of the Mellonticocene, hoofed lagomorphs became the dominant herbivores of the Old World. The only even-toed ungulates are either highly specialized or live in regions where the hoofed lagomorphs struggle to survive or adapt, like mountains or deserts. This led to the even-toed ungulates being dominant in their current megafaunal roles and the false giraffes holding the ultimate browser role.

The common false giraffe is yellowish-brown with a white-and-black stripe on the belly. Their main feature is their height, although they aren't nearly as tall as the giraffes of the Holocene. They are  4.2 to 4.8 meters for males and 4 to 4.2 meters for females. They also weigh 1,600 kilograms for males and 1000 kilograms for females. Like most antelopes, the males of this species have horns, while the females do not. Their horns are mainly used in infraspecific competition, with their legs used to defend against predators. Although, predators don't attack them due to their size. They have a tough tongue to deal with the spiky acacia trees of the savannah. They are also fairly conservative for an ungulate of the Novicene.

Distribution:

They inhabit the open savanna and sparsely wooded areas of the Congo Savannah, with some populations living in the deserts in southern Africa.

Diet:

These antelopes are well-adapted to eat the tops of trees. They mainly eat the leaves from the tops of acacia trees.

Social Behavior:

The common false giraffe is a semi-social animal. The females form groups of up to ten adult individuals with their young. Although, there are reports of groups getting to be over 50 individuals. Males are solitary but will temporarily live in an all-female group or bachelor group. The males found in the all-female groups are usually there to mate with females. Mating occurs year-round, with males fighting for territory and mating rights. Usually, males battle using their necks, horns, and legs. They typically try to headbutt each other to tire them out or wound the other males. They do this by rotating their necks around at high speeds and forces. Occasionally, they end up puncturing each other due to their horns. These fights can last up to 30 minutes and cause major damage to each male. The weaker male will be chased out of the territory, and the male will have the territory. False giraffes are polyamorous, so the males will try to mate with as many females as possible.

Parental Care:

After mating with a male, the female is responsible for caring for the young. It takes around 400 to 460 days to gestate. Babies are born with a hard start in life, being that they are dropped from a height of about two meters. The babies are about 1.2 to 1.3 meters tall at birth. They then have to get up quickly in fear of the various predators of the savannah and to move to new locations for the herd. The female false giraffe will take care of their young until they reach roughly 12 to 14 months old. Throughout this period, they will have to deal with drought, predators, males killing them, disease, and other causes of death. Males see young who aren't theirs as a threat due to the females not want to breed with them. About 60% of baby false giraffes don't survive their first year.