Relying on previous accounts of the animals, Linnaeus was actually describing the Nubian giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis), a subspecies of one of the four species identified in the new genetic study.
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One of the most iconic animals in Africa has a secret.
Giraffes are a more diverse group than once thought, with scientists recently identifying four distinct species. The four species don’t appear to mate with each other at all in the wild, another surprise to the researchers.
Genetic differences among the four species were comparable to those between polar bears and brown bears, said geneticist Axel Janke of the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre and Goethe University in Germany.
“It was an awesome finding”, he says.
“It turned out, he told BBC News, that, for example, “the whole clade of northern giraffes was very different from reticulated giraffes”.
The Reticulated giraffe (G. reticulata) also is a new species.
When he looked at the genetic samples provided by Dr. Fennessy, Janke realized there were significant differences between groups of giraffes that conservationists would have to take into account when devising strategies to help giraffe populations remain at sustainable numbers. When the exotic animals were paraded around ancient Rome by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, they were hailed as a cross between a camel and a leopard, a publicity stunt that later gave rise to the beasts’ scientific name, camelopardalis. “However, I am convinced by their data and analysis that four separate species is the correct interpretation”.
A new DNA analysis shows that there are four species of giraffe, not just one as scientists previously thought. Latest estimates have revealed that giraffe numbers have plummeted by 35% over the past 30 years down to approximately 100,000 individuals across their range in Africa. We were lucky to go to some wonderful places to sample some of the last giraffe to help unravel this mystery, including far western Ethiopia on the border with South Sudan, northwestern DRC, Niger, and the remote northwest Namibia. It is a distinct subspecies of the northern giraffe.
This study was supported by the State of Hesse’s funding program LOEWE, the Leibniz Association, the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, the Leiden Conservation Foundation, the Auckland Zoo, and various African government partners and global supporters. “I applaud the science and what it adds to our understanding of African biogeography”.
Janke says that the findings have obvious implications for conservation: all of the giraffe species must be protected, with special attention paid to the northern and reticulated giraffe. Each of those species has fewer than 10,000 individuals.
Wild giraffe populations have already been declining, with less than 100,000 individuals left globally.
American bison may not be completely wild. “Working collaboratively with African governments, the continued support of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation and partners can highlight the importance of each of these dwindling species, and hopefully kick start targeted conservation efforts and internal donor support for their increased protection. Realizing that what we once suspected to be one species is now four species, that really changes our view”, Koepfli says. Genetics can uncover new species, but it’s not always obvious how that knowledge should guide decisions about animal protection. A suite of nuclear genetic markers and mitochondrial DNA – often used to distinguish different species – were subsequently analysed in the lab. “They are ecologically functional bison”, Amato says.
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The finding means that each newly-recognised species of giraffe is much more endangered than we’d realised before. Working with the African Parks Foundation, we helped fit a number of species with Global Positioning System satellite collars, but my main interest were obviously giraffe.
