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The northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), also known as three-horned giraffe, [2] is the type species of giraffe, G. camelopardalis, and is native to North Africa, although alternative taxonomic hypotheses have proposed the northern giraffe as a separate species. [3] [1]
The Giraffidae are a family of ruminant artiodactyl mammals that share a recent common ancestor with deer and bovids.This family, once a diverse group spread throughout Eurasia and Africa, presently comprises only two extant genera, the giraffe (between one and eight, usually four, species of Giraffa, depending on taxonomic interpretation) and the okapi (the only known species of Okapia).
The giraffe's head and neck are held up by large muscles and a nuchal ligament, which are anchored by long thoracic vertebrae spines, giving them a hump. [17] [62] [35] Adult male reticulated giraffe feeding high on an acacia, in Kenya. The giraffe's neck vertebrae have ball and socket joints.
Giraffomorpha is a clade of pecoran ruminants containing the superfamilies Palaeomerycoidea (Palaeomerycidae) and Giraffoidea (Giraffidae, Prolibytheriidae and Climacoceratidae), of which the giraffe and okapi of the Giraffidae are the only extant members of the once-diverse clade as a result of a decline in diversity after the Miocene as a result of declines in temperatures.
The southern giraffe (Giraffa giraffa), also known as two-horned giraffe, [1] is a species of giraffe native to Southern Africa. [2] However, the IUCN currently recognizes only one species of giraffe with nine subspecies. [3] [4]
Similar to species with horns or antlers, male giraffes use their ossicones as weapons during combat, where they use their heads as clubs: the ossicones add weight and concentrate the force of impact onto a small area, allowing it to deliver heavier blows with higher contact pressure. [4]
Artiodactyls live on every major landmass and throughout the oceans and in a variety of habitats, including forests, grasslands, and deserts. They come in a wide array of body plans in contrasting shapes and sizes, ranging from the 38 cm (15 in) long and 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) royal antelope to the 27 m (89 ft) long and 120 ton blue whale .
Modern, giraffe-like restoration in the MEPAN Outdated moose-like restoration Museum reconstruction. Sivatherium resembled the modern okapi, but was far larger, and more heavily built, being about 2.2 m (7.2 ft) tall at the shoulder, 3 m (9.8 ft) in total height with a weight up to 400–500 kg (880–1,100 lb). [5]