Gi Ra Ff Es
September 8, 2016 6:11 PM   Subscribe

If you ever found yourself thinking That giraffe looks different from that other giraffe, congratulations: a genetic study has found that giraffes are four different species (plus a subspecies), which are roughly as different from each other as the brown bear and the polar bear. Previously, all giraffes were classified as the single species Giraffa camelopardalis.
posted by Etrigan (33 comments total) 29 users marked this as a favorite
 
And still no unicorns. Goddammit, science.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 6:12 PM on September 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


You wrote “giraffe” but what you really meant to write was “long-necked sky cow”.
posted by Fizz at 6:17 PM on September 8, 2016 [18 favorites]


I require a side by side comparison of these four species so we can gauge giraffe cuteness please

And yet there is none

Nature.com why have you failed us in this way
posted by Hermione Granger at 6:17 PM on September 8, 2016 [19 favorites]


And none of them have horns!
posted by the man of twists and turns at 6:21 PM on September 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


Somebody call Peter Adamson. He's going to go (even further) berserk.
posted by bukvich at 6:28 PM on September 8, 2016


For anyone who's not up to speed, here's a primer on giraffes.
posted by indubitable at 6:33 PM on September 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


Can we bring back Lamarck now
posted by beerperson at 6:42 PM on September 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


>And none of them have horns!

They have Giraffe Nubs.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 6:47 PM on September 8, 2016 [5 favorites]


Hermione: here is a side-by-side
posted by rebent at 6:57 PM on September 8, 2016 [17 favorites]


Spoiler: All giraffes both tol and smol are A+ adorable

thank you rebent for that excellent guide
posted by Hermione Granger at 7:00 PM on September 8, 2016 [4 favorites]


Giraffa camelopardalis.

They really should have known. Even I can tell apart giraffes and camels and leopards. From, like, just a few zoo visits.

I don't know what an Alis is, though.
posted by mountmccabe at 7:04 PM on September 8, 2016 [6 favorites]


Alis was that JJ Abrams show about a spy
posted by beerperson at 7:06 PM on September 8, 2016 [6 favorites]


ahhh what?! For some reason this reminds me of the discovery of the "glymphatic system" (brain/lymph/immune system connection) and that discovery of "fat compartments" in the human face. Like, where did that come from, man? I thought we were done except for like quantum gravity and neuroscience. Ok not really, of course. But I love this unexpected (to me) sort of stuff.
posted by zeek321 at 7:07 PM on September 8, 2016


"Reticulated giraffe"? Aren't all giraffes reticulated? Be more specific, science!
posted by Sys Rq at 7:20 PM on September 8, 2016


You wrote “giraffe” but what you really meant to write was “long-necked sky cow”.

When we got to feed a giraffe recently, one of the keepers said in terms of their dispositions, "They're basically a big cow-camel."
posted by Celsius1414 at 7:21 PM on September 8, 2016 [5 favorites]


I'm not being sarcastic, but is this really news? I could have sworn we knew there were different species of giraffes already. I know I've read about conservation efforts on behalf of the Rothschild giraffe. In fact, one of the places that is participating in those efforts had this to say on its website: "The majestic giraffe is the world’s tallest animal. There may be 6 species of giraffe in the world today."

I could understand that there was ambiguity about exactly how many separate species there were but I'd never thought to assume there was ever only one.
posted by sardonyx at 7:22 PM on September 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


sardonyx, they originally thought that the different types of giraffe were subspecies of Giraffa camelopardalis (a bit like different breeds of horse, which look different but are all Equus caballus).

Now the types are reclassified as species in their own right, because they have been found to be genetically distinct from one another (as horses are from donkeys or zebras).

(IANAZoologist or taxonomist, and will gladly stand corrected)
posted by Pallas Athena at 7:40 PM on September 8, 2016 [3 favorites]


They seem to have omitted the King's Cameleopard ( g. camelopardalis bogus rex), also known as the Royal Nonesuch. It is native to the Mississippi River catchment, though it is found elsewhere.
 
posted by Herodios at 7:51 PM on September 8, 2016 [3 favorites]


Or as we call them in our house, "tall goat".
posted by benzenedream at 8:54 PM on September 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


But are they all still classified as kosher?
posted by WaylandSmith at 10:14 PM on September 8, 2016


When we got to feed a giraffe recently, one of the keepers said in terms of their dispositions, "They're basically a big cow-camel."

Our Zoo just started a Giraffe feeding program in May. I have been going roughly once a week!

They really are a lot like cows - pretty chill and affectionate. My two favorites, Travis and Charlotte, have bestowed kisses, nibbles, and nuzzles. It makes it very hard to follow the No Petting rule.
posted by MissySedai at 10:31 PM on September 8, 2016 [7 favorites]


It's a good move for a Key Performance Indicator-driven world: keep our global biodiversity count stable by subdividing the species we've got. Orangutans? Gone. But our chimps are now three types of chimp! +1 net gain!
posted by BinGregory at 12:02 AM on September 9, 2016 [1 favorite]


"But are they all still classified as kosher?"

Yes, but not traditionally eaten, which means even if everyone agrees they're kosher a lof of Jews still won't eat it as it isn't traditional. There's also some rabbinic debate about the proper slaughter methods for something with such a long neck, but that's solvable.

(Anyway nobody's eating giraffes except in emergencies at which point kosher laws are secondary to the preservation of human life, so it's all theoretical arguing for funsies anyway.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 1:53 AM on September 9, 2016 [5 favorites]


Woohoo! Double armchair tick!
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 4:47 AM on September 9, 2016


The coolest giraffe-related thing I've ever seen is the (kind of gory, also narrated by Richard Dawkins but still fantastically cool) dissection of a giraffe's recurrent laryngeal nerve (species unknown). It leaves the vagus nerve at the base of the cranium, travels all the way down the neck to loop around the aorta, and then travels all the way back UP the neck to insert into the larynx. Evolution!

The second coolest giraffe related thing I've seen is okapis!
posted by ChuraChura at 6:01 AM on September 9, 2016 [2 favorites]


I think "giraffe nubs" sounds way better than "ossicones," but how will the okapi feel about this proposed change?
posted by giraffe at 6:20 AM on September 9, 2016 [2 favorites]


ossicone's is kind of a great word tho
posted by PinkMoose at 6:26 AM on September 9, 2016


"Giraffe Related"--I see what you did there, ChuraChura. In honor of that, I give you "The Mysterious Okapi."
posted by MrGuilt at 6:45 AM on September 9, 2016 [1 favorite]


> so it's all theoretical arguing for funsies anyway

You've just described half the Talmud!
posted by languagehat at 7:19 AM on September 9, 2016 [2 favorites]


Ah, but which half?
posted by Etrigan at 8:37 AM on September 9, 2016


I saw this headline several times and I seriously thought they meant each individual giraffe was made up of four different species. Like the back end is a cow and the front end is a horse and the head is a camel and the legs are goats.
posted by double bubble at 2:57 PM on September 9, 2016


Cell.com has the full paper, including helpful graphics that depict where the different giraffes are located.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:45 PM on September 12, 2016


languagehat: "You've just described half the Talmud!"

"Is it *right* to buy a Chrysler?"
posted by Chrysostom at 1:57 PM on September 12, 2016


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