Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The Giraffidae are a family of ruminant artiodactyl mammals that share a common ancestor with deer and bovids.This family, once a diverse group spread throughout Eurasia and Africa, presently comprises only two extant genera, the giraffe (between one and eight, usually four, species of Giraffa, depending on taxonomic interpretation) and the okapi (the only known species of Okapia).
The family Giraffidae was once much more extensive, with over 10 fossil genera described. [8] The elongation of the neck appears to have started early in the giraffe lineage. Comparisons between giraffes and their ancient relatives suggest vertebrae close to the skull lengthened earlier, followed by lengthening of vertebrae further down. [10]
Giraffidae. Giraffoidea is a superfamily that includes the families Climacoceratidae, Prolibytheriidae, and Giraffidae. The only extant members in the superfamily are the giraffes and okapi. The Climacoceratidae are also placed in the superfamily, but were originally placed within the family Palaeomerycidae.
Giraffomorpha is a clade of pecoran ruminants containing the superfamilies Palaeomerycoidea (Palaeomerycidae) and Giraffoidea ( Giraffidae, Prolibytheriidae and Climacoceratidae ), of which the giraffe and okapi of the Giraffidae are the only extant members of the once-diverse clade as a result of a decline in diversity after the Miocene as a ...
Synonyms. †Libytherium. Sivatherium ("Shiva's beast", from Shiva and therium, Latinized form of Ancient Greek θηρίον - thēríon) is an extinct genus of giraffid that ranged throughout Africa and Eurasia. The species Sivatherium giganteum is, by weight, one of the largest giraffids known, and also one of the largest ruminants of all time.
The Reticulated giraffe is a herbivore feeding on leaves, shoots, and shrubs. Their up to 30 centimeter long blue tounge is used to strip the branches of acacia trees, their primary food source. [4] They spend most of their day feeding, roughly 13 hours/day, eating up to 34 kilogramms of food per day. [12]
The southern giraffe (Giraffa giraffa), also known as two-horned giraffe, [1] is a species of giraffe native to Southern Africa. [2] However, the IUCN currently recognizes only one species of giraffe with nine subspecies. [3][4] Southern giraffes have rounded or blotched spots, some with star-like extensions on a light tan background, running ...
The Masai giraffe (Giraffa tippelskirchi[2]), also spelled Maasai giraffe, and sometimes called the Kilimanjaro giraffe, is a species or subspecies of giraffe. It is native to East Africa. The Masai giraffe can be found in central and southern Kenya and in Tanzania. It has distinctive jagged, irregular leaf-like blotches that extend from the ...