The giraffe is one of the world’s most iconic and unique mammals and has captured the human imagination through the ages. Surprisingly, only a few years ago scientists discovered that there are four distinct species of giraffe – based on their genetics – and not as previously assumed only one giraffe species.
This distinction of four giraffe species was now further confirmed in a newly published study that analyzed the skull morphology of giraffe. With only 117,000 giraffe remaining in the wild in Africa, these findings are vital and highlight the importance of finally shining a light on the silent extinction of these gentle giants.
Giraffe taxonomy and evolution has been discussed at length with different theories emerging, however, innovative genomic research by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre and other partners revealed the distinction of four species almost a decade ago, namely the Masai, northern, reticulated, and southern giraffe. While there were theories of differences in the appearance of different giraffe species, no study had ever analyzed this systematically. To understand more, the Giraffe Conservation Foundation embarked on a mammoth collaborative research project by engaging key collaborators from the University of Cape Town, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, several European universities as well as many African government partners.
Professor Anusuya Chinsamy from the University of Cape Town and Professor Jesús Marugán-Lobón from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid highlight that “This study is a fantastic example of successful interdisciplinary collaboration in science that has made an important contribution to giraffe conservation and hopefully will go a long way to saving these iconic animals in Africa.”
This latest state-of-the-art study assembled the largest known dataset for any medium to large wildlife by 3D-scanning 515 giraffe skulls from African national parks, game farms, taxidermists, and museum collections globally. Using 3D geometric morphometrics analysis it naturally did not come as a surprise that the study showed distinct differences between male and female giraffe skulls. However, it was rather unexpected that the results confirmed the existence of four distinct giraffe species in line with previous genetic analysis: the four genetically distinct giraffe species also have distinct cranial morphologies, largely linked to their ossicones (bony horn-like structures on their skulls).
Dr Nikolaos Kargopoulos, lead author and post-doctoral fellow with the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, traveled the world to 3D scan giraffe skulls and comments: “This groundbreaking research highlights the value of science to increase our understanding of our natural world. When I embarked on this project, I did not expect to find such clear differences in the skull shapes of giraffe – before I started looking more closely, I thought a giraffe is just a giraffe …”
The fact that there are four distinct giraffe species, some with worryingly low numbers remaining in the wild, has clear implications for their conservation and highlights the importance of using science to inform critical decisions for biodiversity conservation.
Dr Julian Fennessy, Director of Conservation at the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, and co-author adds that “Almost a decade ago, our genetic research showed the existence of four giraffe species, and now our collaborative morphological research has further confirmed this. It is about time that the world stands tall for giraffe, in particular the IUCN, and changes the outdated taxonomy of giraffe to give them the status they deserve. Conservation efforts need to urgently target all four giraffe species – particularly those with precariously low numbers – before it is too late. Science is science and facts are facts. I hope that any debate around giraffe taxonomy can now finally be put to rest as we must act now to save each of these iconic giraffe species”
Stephanie Fennessy, Executive Director at the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, and co-author concludes: “As a small and impactful organization, the Giraffe Conservation Foundation continues to make a big difference for giraffe in Africa and we remain at the forefront of giraffe science and conservation. This study is a great example: many people have theorized about differences in their morphology. We grabbed the giraffe by the ossicones – so to speak – and figured it out. We hope that the world will now join us in drawing attention to these iconic animals and help us save them in the wild.”
As our knowledge of biodiversity continues to increase, taxonomic changes are critical to providing the most appropriate conservation actions as was recently also highlighted in the proposal by the USFWS that already recommends the listing all four species of giraffe on the USA Endangered Species Act.
Read the full paper here.
Citation:
Kargopoulos N, Marugán-Lobón J, Chinsamy A, Agwanda BR, Brown MB, Fennessy S, Hoffman R, Lala F, Muneza A, Mwebi O, Otiende M, Petzold A, Winter S Zabeirou ARM & Fennessy J (2024) Heads up–Four Giraffa species have distinct cranial morphology. PLoS ONE 19(12): e0315043. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315043