Although Palaeotragus was felt to be the
first giraffe, fossil remains of the Palaeotragus
indicate that it actually was a type of okapi.
So there is fossil evidence of animals virtually
identical to modern okapi, and it is assumed
that giraffes evolved from ancient okapi—in
spite of a complete lack of fossil evidence
for this theory. The evidence better fits the
theory that the Palaeotragus was actually an
okapi that has existed unchanged in the fossil
record. Giraffes are classified as artiodactyls
(the order Artiodactyla are ungulates that
have an even number of toes, either two or four on each
foot, with the axis of the foot, located between the third
and fourth toes). Artiodactyls include deer, antelopes, the
antelope-like pronghorns, cattle (bovidae), sheep and goats;
also the okapi which is classified with the giraffe, in the
giraffid family.40