Giraffes May Be Six Separate Species

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.'"

Comments

Same thing with people...

[Anonymous Coward]

Even though we all look different (eg: skin colour, height, "width", etc), if you put us in zoos, we will breed freely also

Re:Same thing with people...

[Beached]

Yah, it's called College

Re:Same thing with people...

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, its also called low income housing...

Re:Same thing with people...

[Chineseyes]

Here is a dirty little fact that most people don't know the average adult on welfare is a single WHITE woman with children. Furthermore white people live off of welfare as well and profit from it far more than African Americans or Hispanics, except in the corporate world they call it SUBSIDIES. All those farmers who get paid NOT to farm? All those airlines who receive money from the government to avoid bankruptcy. All of the oil companies who get huge tax breaks when they are earning record profits? Thats government sponsored WELFARE and the people who benefit from such welfare are largely middle class and upper middle class people who are largely white. Welfare programs for the poor are absolute chump change compared to the amount of money corporations and by proxy their shareholders take from the government.

Breeding?

[FroBugg]

Although the giraffes look different, if you put them in zoos, they breed freely.

Assuming they produce viable offspring, isn't that one of the primary definitions for a single species?

Re:Breeding?

[djupedal]

"wouldn't it be better to say 6 subspecies of giraffe?"

You mean, like:

• giraffa
• giraffb
• giraffc
• giraffd
• giraffe
• girafff

?

Re:Breeding?

[ConanG]

you mean like:

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

Re:Breeding?

[shellbeach]

wouldn't it be better to say 6 subspecies of giraffe? IAAB, and yes, that's absolutely correct. They're subspecies.

You get the same thing with the house mouse, mus musculus -- subspecies that are genetically distinct and geographically isolated, but which will interbreed in captivity (and in bordering zones in the wild). It's presumed that a lower fitness in the offspring of cross-subspecies matings in bordering zones keeps the subspecies separate.

Contradiction?

[shish]

reproductively isolated and not interbreeding ... if you put them in zoos, they breed freely. Does this not make sense to anyone else?

Re:Contradiction?

[ferd_farkle]

Reproductive isolation is a major characteristic of speciation. Lions and tigers, horses and donkeys, etc are different species, but under unnatural conditions may mate and even produce offspring. Depending on how unrelated the species are, the offspring may or may not be viable.

Speciation is not as cut-and-dried as you might think. Reproductively isolated populations diverge more and more over time, and the speciation becomes more and more pronounced.

Racist animals

[CriminalNerd]

"The female Maasai giraffe may be looking at the male reticulated giraffe and thinking, 'I don't look like you; I don't want to mate with you'," Mr Brown explained.

So, in short...the giraffes are racists unless they live in a "multicultural" environment (ie: a zoo)?

Now, where have I heard that before?

in that case ...

[ThirdPrize]

the people of texas are a completely different species to the ones in New York and California.

Glen Quagmire....

[mikerubin]

Good Morning Baby..... ... ...
Hey wait a minute, you're not the same giraffe from last night !