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Male okapi displaying his striking horizontal stripes. The okapi is a medium-sized giraffid, standing 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) tall at the shoulder. Its average body length is about 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) and its weight ranges from 200 to 350 kg (440 to 770 lb). [25] It has a long neck, and large and flexible ears.
Side view of a typical cervical vertebra Despite greatly differing neck lengths, okapi (left) and giraffe (right) both have seven cervical vertebrae. The giraffe's neck is elongated by heterochrony, extension of the time for the embryonic development of these bones.
In okapi, the male's ossicones are smaller in proportion to the head, and taper towards their tips, forming a sharper point than the comparatively blunt giraffe ossicone. Whereas female giraffes have reduced ossicones, female okapi lack ossicones entirely. The morphology of ossicones in the extinct relatives of giraffes and okapi varies widely.
Others find that the okapi lineage diverged earlier, before Giraffokeryx. [8] Samotherium was a particularly important transitional fossil in the giraffe lineage, as the length and structure of its cervical vertebrae were between those of a modern giraffe and an okapi, and its neck posture was likely similar to the former's. [9]
The diagram shows that both giraffes and okapi have 7 cervical vertebrae. Almost all mammals -- including humans -- have 7 cervical vertebrae. Could someone either add more information explaining this picture, or remove it? --BooksXYZ 07:53, 30 October 2019 (UTC) OKK liioiio ii 37.210.157.253 07:00, 6 November 2023 (UTC)
When competition for resources is fierce, being able to reach food that other animals cannot get to is a bonus. Possessing a foot-long tongue is a huge advantage and this is where the okapi excels.
The gerenuk [a] (Litocranius walleri), also known as the giraffe gazelle, is a long-necked, medium-sized antelope found in parts of East Africa.The sole member of the genus Litocranius, the gerenuk was first described by the naturalist Victor Brooke in 1879.
Palaeotragus ("ancient goat") is a genus of very large, primitive, okapi-like giraffids from the Miocene to Early Pleistocene of Africa and Eurasia.. Palaeotragus primaevus is the older species, being found in early to mid-Miocene strata, while P. germaini is found in Late Miocene strata.