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The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus Giraffa.It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth.Traditionally, giraffes have been thought of as one species, Giraffa camelopardalis, with nine subspecies.
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 current IUCN taxonomic scheme lists one species of giraffe with the name G. camelopardalis and nine subspecies. [1] [7] A 2021 whole genome sequencing study suggests the northern giraffe as a separate species, and postulates the existence of three distinct subspecies, [8] and more recently, one extinct subspecies. [9] [10] [11]
The reticulated giraffe (Giraffa reticulata [3] or Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata [4]) is a species/subspecies of giraffe native to the Horn of Africa. It is differentiated from other types of giraffe by its coat, which consists of large, polygonal (or squared), block-like spots, which extend onto the lower legs, tail and face.
The third ossicone can often be seen in the center of the giraffe's forehead, and the other two are behind each ear. Regarding the hybridization and habitat of the species: Rothschild’s giraffes have different genetic markers that other species usually do not, which keeps their populations safe from extinction and hybridization overlap.
Living giraffes were originally classified as one species by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, under the binomial name Cervus camelopardalis. Morten Thrane Brünnich classified the genus Giraffa in 1772. [ 6 ] Once considered a subspecies of the conglomerate Giraffa camelopardalis species, recent studies proposed the southern giraffe as a separate species ...
Each "horn" of the pronghorn is composed of a slender, laterally flattened blade of bone that grows from the frontal bones of the skull, forming a permanent core. As in the Giraffidae, skin covers the bony cores, but in the pronghorn it develops into a keratinous sheath that is shed and regrown on an annual basis.
The Kordofan giraffe has spots similarly to other giraffe subspecies. They are even-toed ungulades and walk on long legs. Compared to other subspecies they are rather small; males are on average 6 meters tall, females reach a height of 4,5 meters. [10] Their shoulder height lies between 2 meters for females to 3,5 meters for males. [10]