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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.
The giraffe's distinguishing characteristics are its extremely long neck and legs, horn-like ossicones, and spotted coat patterns. It is classified under the family Giraffidae , along with its closest extant relative, the okapi .
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]
These fights can get violent and even involve cutting each other with the use of sharp horn-like pairs of ossicones on the top of their heads. The video above shows the fascinating way male ...
An adult giraffe head can weigh 30 kg (66 lb), and if necessary, male giraffes establish a hierarchy among themselves by swinging their heads at each other, horns first, a behavior known as "necking". A subordinate okapi signals submission by placing its head and neck on the ground. Giraffes are sociable, whereas okapis live mainly solitary lives.
Ossicones are horn-like (or antler-like) protuberances found on the heads of giraffes and male okapis. They are similar to the horns of antelopes and cattle save that they are derived from ossified cartilage, [66] and that the ossicones remain covered in skin and fur rather than horn. Pronghorn cranial appendages are unique. Each "horn" of the ...
Giraffe populations are in trouble — and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday proposed listing three subspecies of the tall animals as endangered and two species as threatened under ...
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.