Skull study confirms thesis of the four giraffe species

There is not one, but four species of giraffe. Experts came to this conclusion around ten years ago on the basis of genetic analyses. A recent study of giraffe skulls has now confirmed this theory.

This was announced by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation in a press release at the end of December. According to the GCF, 515 giraffe skulls from African national parks and game farms, taxidermists and museum collections worldwide were scanned in three dimensions.

The researchers identified four different groups of skull shapes. The main distinguishing feature is the horn-like protrusions on the skull, known as ossicones. It was astonishing that each of these four groups of skull shapes could be assigned to one of the four giraffe species.

Of course, the 3D scans of the skulls also revealed female and male characteristics. The study has been published on the portal Journal.plos.org.

The differentiation of the giraffe into four species is important for its conservation. The GCF warned that some of the species should be officially classified as endangered due to low populations or severe decline (see report on Namibian.org).

Sven-Eric Stender