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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.
Head of a male okapi with damaged ossicones. The okapi is easily distinguished from its nearest extant relative, the giraffe. It is much smaller than the giraffe and shares more external similarities with bovids and cervids. Ossicones are present only in the male okapi, while both sexes of giraffe possess this feature.
The Giraffidae are a family of ruminant artiodactyl mammals that share a recent 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 elongated shape of its head also helps to extend its reach. If you look closely, you can see that the okapi tongue is dark blue in color with a pointed end and a smooth base.
Like the giraffe, the okapi uses its long, prehensile tongue to pluck leaves and buds from trees," the Cincinnati Zoo's website states. Okapis walk like giraffes, swinging forward both legs on the ...
Giraffokeryx appeared 15–12 mya on the Indian subcontinent and resembled an okapi or a small giraffe, and had a longer neck and similar ossicones. [6] Giraffokeryx may have shared a clade with more massively built giraffids like Sivatherium and Bramatherium. [8] The extinct giraffid Samotherium (middle) in comparison with the okapi (below ...
Two major body types are known: suinids and hippopotamuses are characterized by a stocky body, short legs, and a large head; camels and ruminants, though, have a more slender build and lanky legs. Size varies considerably; the smallest member, the mouse deer, often reaches a body length of only 45 centimeters (18 in) and a weight of 1.5 ...
It’s the 18th okapi calf born at the zoo since 1989, and the fourth offspring for mom Kuvua, according to the zoo.