Giraffe are four species, not one
"As distinct species, it makes them some of the most endangered large mammals in the world."
Genetic analysis has revealed the giraffe is not one species as previously thought, but four. Scientists say the discovery has huge implications for conservation.
Giraffe were believed to be one species made up of several subspecies but according to new research published in Current Biology, there are four highly distinct groups that do not mate with each other in the wild.
Scientists say the genetic differences between the four are at least as great as those between, say, polar bears and brown bears.
Skin biopsies taken from 190 giraffe across Africa were examined. Samples included populations from all nine of the previously recognised subspecies.
The four distinct species identified were:
1. Northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)
2. Southern giraffe (Giraffa Giraffa)
3. Reticulated giraffe (Giraffa reticulata)
4. Masai giraffe (Giraffa tippelskirchi)
Three subspecies of northern giraffe were identified: West African giraffe (G. c. peralta), Nubian (G. c. camelopardalis) and Kordofan (G. c. antiquoram). The southern giraffe has two subspecies: Angolan (G. g. angolensis) and South African giraffe (G. g. giraffa).
Scientists say there is an urgent need for further study of the four species and greater conservation efforts. Giraffe are in dramatic decline across their range in Africa, with numbers thought to have fallen by over 50,000 in three decades. Yet, there is relatively little research on them compared to species such as elephants, lions, rhino and gorillas.
Northern giraffe are said to number less than 4,750 individuals in the wild, while there are less than 8,700 reticulated giraffe.
"As distinct species, it makes them some of the most endangered large mammals in the world and require doubling of protection efforts to secure these populations," said Dr Julian Fennessy, of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) in Namibia.
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
