Other animals suggested as precursors of the giraffe
include the Samotherium, an animal that looked somewhat
like a deer, but larger and with a slightly longer neck. It
is also theorized that giraffes may have evolved from the
cervoids, deer-like animals with side toes that are part of
the superfamily Cervoidea. It is hypothesized that since
giraffes lack side toes, these must have been lost during
evolution.