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Giraffes May Be Six Separate Species

Posted by kdawson on from the neck-and-neck dept.

The BBC reports on research, published in BMC Biology, pointing to the possibility that there may be at least six species of giraffe in Africa. Quoting: "'Using molecular techniques we found that giraffes can be classified into six groups that are reproductively isolated and not interbreeding,' David Brown, the lead author of the study and a geneticist at... UCLA told BBC News. 'The results were a surprise because although the giraffes look different, if you put them in zoos, they breed freely.'"

3 of 239 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Breeding? by ConanG · · Score: 4, Interesting

    you mean like:

    Reticulated Giraffe
    Masai Giraffe
    Rothschild Giraffe
    South African Giraffe
    Thornicroft Giraffe
    Nigerian Giraffe

  2. Re:Species or subspecies? by Azzmodan · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That would make tigers and lions the same species, since there have been fertile offspring. I'd say there's a lot wiggle room in the definition.

  3. Re:in that case ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    The fact that these giraffes interbreed in captivity but not in the wild may suggest a more social or territorial element to their reproductive habits, as opposed to some purely genetic aversion/incompatibility. Not entirely unlike the one you describe above. Again, I don't know how much I really care when we are speaking of different SUBspecies with no real difference other than region and spot patterns.