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Giraffe necks do more than help them reach high leaves in trees. They can keep a lookout for predators, but there is another reason they may have such long necks.
Giraffes gain their long necks by a different heterochrony, extending the development of their cervical vertebrae; they retain the usual mammalian number of these vertebrae, seven. [1] This number appears to be constrained by the use of neck somites to form the mammalian diaphragm muscle; the result is that the embryonic neck is divided into ...
A Penn State researcher has been trying to get to the bottom of the age-old question of why giraffes have long necks. Focus on research: Female giraffes drove the evolution of long necks, new ...
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.
Moreover, the giraffe's kudu, impala, and steenbok competitors do not feed above 2 meters and prefer feeding at shoulder level as well, rather than at the maximum height they could reach. [14] An alternative explanation for the origin of long necks in giraffe is sexual selection. Male giraffe often neck with other males to exhibit dominance. [15]
They also will 'swat' with their extremely long and strong necks. Male giraffes become aggressive during mating season. If giraffes sense that their babies (calves) are in danger, they will attack ...
The neck adaptations of Discokeryx help scientists to better understand the triggers for the evolution of the necks of giraffoids. [ 1 ] [ 3 ] Compared to extant head-butting animals such as rams and musk-oxen, D. xiezhi had the most optimized head-butting adaptations of all, with a skull that protected the brain more efficiently than other ...
The okapi and the giraffe are the only living members of the family Giraffidae. The okapi stands about 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) tall at the shoulder and has a typical body length around 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in). Its weight ranges from 200 to 350 kg (440 to 770 lb). It has a long neck, and large, flexible ears.