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Giraffe Species - Ben Bryson

      
Ben Bryson
News blog
1/25/18      

    The article I read spoke of the new discovery that there are multiple species of giraffe. I chose this article because it shows how science can benefit the world we live in by helping us understand our surroundings and preserve nature and wildlife. In addition, I find it astounding that through genetic analysis, we are able to make a discovery that defies what we previously "knew." While it has widely acknowledged that there are sub species of giraffes, it is only recently that there are actual different species. In regards to this Professor Axel Janke stated, "We have studied the genetic relationships of all giraffe subspecies from across the continent. We found, that there are not only one, but at least four genetically highly distinct groups of giraffe, which apparently do not mate with each other in the wild. This we found looking at multiple nuclear genes considered to be representative of the entire genome." This statement is fascinating to me because of the distinct diversity of giraffes, which is only now being noticed the genetic analyse. The article continues by identifying the names of each species as the Southern Giraffe, Masai Giraffe, Reticulated Giraffe and Northern Giraffe. 
         
In addition to the discovery of entirely different species, sub species have been identified as having the same genetic makeup as other sub species thus becoming synonymous to each other. To this the article stated, "The formerly recognized subspecies Rothschild's giraffe (G. c. rothschildi) turned out to be genetically identical with Nubian giraffe, and thus should be synonymized with this subspecies. Similarly, the genetic studies supported previous findings by the team that could not differentiate the formerly recognized subspecies Thornicroft's giraffe (G. c. thornicrofti) with Masai giraffe (G. c. tippelskirchi). Additionally, research into the history of the distinct species showed that their last common ancestor lived about 0.4-2.0 million years ago, which yields a rate of speciation that is typical for mammals." Which again is fascinating that it's taken so long to make this discovery which was only possible the genetic analyzation.. 
      
One of the biggest reasons all of this information is so important is that it helps us to preserve this majestic species. The numbers of existing giraffes were already the lowest ever recorded in modern history. But now, we know that the believed number is even lower than what was previously believed because of the various species. Due to this, only certain giraffes are able to breed which will increase the difficulty to raise the population level of each species. In conclusion, through the reading of this article we learn the importance of correctly identifying species to help with preservation. One can not help but wonder what other animals are out there that we assume to be the same species. but are in fact different. 
  

 Biologynewsnet.net (2016), Giraffes more speciose than expected, Retrieved from 
  http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2016/09/08/giraffes_more_speciose_than_expected.html?         utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+biologynews%2Fheadlines+%28Biology+News+Net%29
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Comments

  1. UnknownFebruary 24, 2018 at 10:52 AM

    I found this blog post quite interesting and thought provoking because it shows how how our world is changing and how if we do not do anything to try and help we could eventually lose a majestic animal such as the giraffe. It also shows the importance of science in helping to preserve these the animal life that we have here on this planet. A few questions that I did have that came to my mind while reading this article was where do each of these sub species live on the earth? Do the difference subspecies intermingle or overlap territories at all even though they do not mate one with another?
    Another question I had while reading this article is have we found any other species that are in the same scenario as the the giraffes in this article? If so, how can we help to preserve these species that might be struggling?
    These questions are important to me because I want to do everything in my power to help preserve the beautiful world on which we have to live.

    Hayden G.

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    Replies
    1. UnknownMarch 13, 2018 at 5:43 PM

      So in response to your questions, some different kinds of Giraffe's that this post outlines are the Southern Giraffe, Masai Giraffe, and the Reticulated Giraffe. The Southern Giraffe's are located in a bunch of places throughout Africa, mostly in South Africa though. My mother in law is from there, and has some pictures of some of them! The Masai Giraffe is located in Kenya as well as Tanzania. Then the Reticulated Giraffe is located in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Northern Kenya. Also, in response to your question about how to help them, there are a bunch of different societies and associations like the African Wildlife Association, that provide different things like reserves for all kinds of animals including Giraffes. - Alex L.

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  2. UnknownApril 25, 2018 at 7:33 PM

    That is interesting that they just discovered that recently. My question is: is discovering different species among animals that were previously considered one species common? Why did they choose to study giraffes specifically? Would we discover even more separate species if we took the time to look?
    -SP

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  3. UnknownApril 27, 2018 at 11:29 AM

    I found this article to be very intriguing as well. It talks about how all the species of giraffes are slowly becoming extinct for various reasons. What I want to know is based on the common fact that when a horse and a donkey mate, they produce a mule that is fertile. So my question is: Is the same thing happening to giraffes, where if a certain two of the four species mate, do they reproduce something that is fertile? Is that a possible reason as to why they are slowly becoming extinct?

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownApril 27, 2018 at 11:30 AM


    I found this article to be very intriguing as well. It talks about how all the species of giraffes are slowly becoming extinct for various reasons. What I want to know is based on the common fact that when a horse and a donkey mate, they produce a mule that is fertile. So my question is: Is the same thing happening to giraffes, where if a certain two of the four species mate, do they reproduce something that is fertile? Is that a possible reason as to why they are slowly becoming extinct?

    Aaron Ashby

    ReplyDelete

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