Giraffidae: Difference between revisions

| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|20|0}}Early [[Miocene]] -– recent

Akakwkakakalalacaption| image2_caption = [[Masai giraffe]] (''G. tippelskirchi'') at the [[Mikumi National Park]], [[Tanzania]]

| subdivision = * †[[Canthumerycinae]]

* †[[CanthumerycinaeGiraffinae]]

The '''Giraffidae''' are a [[family (biology)|family]] of [[ruminant]] [[artiodactyl]] mammals that share a recent common ancestor with [[cerviddeer]]s and [[bovid]]s. This family, once a diverse group spread throughout [[Eurasia]] and Africa, presently comprises only two extant genera, the [[giraffe]] (between one orand moreeight, usually four, species of ''[[Giraffa]]'', depending on taxonomic interpretation) and the [[okapi]] (the only known species of ''[[Okapia]]''). Both are confined to [[sub-Saharan Africa]]: the giraffe to the open [[savanna]]s, and the okapi to the dense [[rainforest]] of the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]]. The two genera look very different on first sight, but share a number of common features, including a long, dark-coloured tongue, lobed canine teeth, and horns covered in skin, called [[ossicone]]s.

*''[[Okapi|Okapia johnstoni]]''

|[[File:Australia Zoo Giraffe-2 (17998331829).jpg|175px]]||''[[Giraffa]]'' ||

** ''[[Northern giraffe|Giraffa camelopardalis]]''

** ''[[Northern giraffe|Giraffa camelopardalis]]''

** ''[[Southern giraffe|Giraffa giraffa]]''

** ''[[Reticulated giraffe|Giraffa reticulata]]''

** ''[[Masai giraffe|Giraffa tippelskirchi]]''

The giraffids are [[ruminant]]s of the clade [[Pecora]]. Other extant pecorans are the families [[Antilocapridae]] ([[pronghorn]]s), [[Cervidae]] ([[deer]]), [[Moschidae]] ([[musk deer]]), and [[Bovidae]] ([[Bovini|cattle]], [[Caprinae|goats and sheep]], [[Alcelaphinae|wildebeests and allies]], and [[antelope]]s). The exact interrelationships among the pecorans have been debated, mainly focusing on the placement of Giraffidae, but a recent large-scale ruminant genome sequencing study suggests Antilocapridae are the sister taxon to Giraffidae, as shown in the [[cladogram]] below.<ref name=RumiantPhylo2020>{{Cite journal | last1 = Chen | first1 = L. | last2 = Qiu | first2 = Q. | last3 = Jiang | first3 = Y. | last4 = Wang | first4 = K. | title = Large-scale ruminant genome sequencing provides insights into their evolution and distinct traits | doi = 10.1126/science.aav6202 | journal = Science | volume = 364 | issue = 6446 | pages = eaav6202| year = 2019 | pmid = 31221828| bibcode = 2019Sci...364.6202C| doi-access = free }}</ref>

The fossil record of giraffids and their stem-relatives is quite intensive, with fossil of these taxa include [[Gelocidae]], [[Palaeomerycidae]], [[Prolibytherium|Prolibytheridae]], and [[Climacoceratidae]].<ref name="solounias2007">{{cite book | last1 = Solounias | first1 = N. | year = 2007 | chapter = Family Giraffidae | editor1-last = Prothero| editor1-first = D.R.| editor2-last = Foss | editor2-first = S.E. | title = The Evolution of Artiodactyls. | publisher = The Johns Hopkins University Press | pages = 257–277 |isbn =9780801887352}}</ref><ref name="HMW2011">{{cite book | last1 = Skinner | first1 = J.| last2 = Mitchell| first2 = G. | year = 2011 | chapter = Family Giraffidae (Giraffe and Okapi) | editor1-last = Wilson | editor1-first = D.E.| editor2-last = Mittermeier | editor2-first = R.A. | title = Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume II | publisher = Lynx Ediciones |location=Barcelona | pages = 788–802 |isbn = 978-84-96553-77-4}}</ref> It is thought that the palaeomerycids is the ancestral group that given rise to the, prolibytherids, climacoceratids and the giraffids, all three formingform a clade of pecorans known as [[Giraffomorpha]].<ref name="solounias2007"/><ref name="Sánchez et al 2015">{{cite journal|last1=Sánchez|first1=Israel M.|last2=Cantalapiedra|first2=Juan L.|last3=Ríos|first3=María|last4=Quiralte|first4=Victoria|last5=Morales|first5=Jorge|title=Systematics and Evolution of the Miocene Three-Horned Palaeomerycid Ruminants (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla)|journal=PLOS ONE|date=2015|volume=10|issue=12|pages=e0143034|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0143034|pmid=26630174|pmc=4668073|bibcode=2015PLoSO..1043034S|doi-access=free}}</ref> The relationship between the climacoceratids and giraffids is supported by the presence of a bilobed canine,<ref name="solounias2007"/> and have been postulated into two hypotheses. One is the climacoceratids were the ancestors of the [[Sivatheriinae|sivathere]]s, as both groups were large, deer-like [[Giraffoidea|giraffoid]]s with branching antler-like [[ossicone]]s, while an extinct basal group of giraffoids, [[Canthumerycinae|canthumerycines]], evolved into the ancestors of Giraffidae.<ref name="HMW2011"/> Another more commonly supported hypothesis is climacoceratids were merely the sister clade to giraffids, with sivatheres being either basal giraffids<ref name="solounias2007"/> or descended from a lineage that also includes the okapi.<ref name=Ríosetal2017>{{Cite journal | last1 = Ríos | first1 = M. | last2 = Sánchez | first2 = I.M. | last3 = Morales | first3 = J. | title = A new giraffid (Mammalia, Ruminantia, Pecora) from the late Miocene of Spain, and the evolution of the sivathere-samothere lineage. | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0185378 | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 12 | issue = 11 | pages = e0185378| year = 2017 | pmid = 29091914| pmc = 5665556| bibcode = 2017PLoSO..1285378R| doi-access = free }}</ref> While the current range of giraffids today is in [[Africa]], the fossil record of the group has shown this family was once widespread throughout of [[Eurasia]].<ref name="solounias2007"/><ref name="HMW2011"/><ref name=Ríosetal2017/>

******* ''[[Masai giraffe|Giraffa tippelskirchii]]'' complex <small>Matschie, 1898</small>

The giraffe stands {{convert|5|–|6|m|abbr=on}} tall, with males taller than females. The giraffe and the okapi have characteristic long necks and long legs. Ossicones are present on males and females in the giraffe, but only on males in the okapi.<ref name=Dagg1971>{{Cite journal|author=Dagg, A. I.|author-link=Anne Innis Dagg|year=1971|title=Giraffa camelopardalis|journal= Mammalian Species|volume=5|pages=1–8|url= http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-005-01-0001.pdf|doi=10.2307/3503830|issue=5|jstor=3503830|access-date=2015-04-17|archive-date=2017-04-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421052751/http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-005-01-0001.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The two extant genera are now confined to [[sub-Saharan Africa]]. The okapi is restricted to a small range in the northern rainforest of the [[Democratic Republic of Congo]]. Although the range of the giraffe is considerably larger, it once covered an area twice the present size&nbsp;—– all parts of Africa that could offer an arid and dry landscape furnished with trees.<ref name=grzimek/>

Giraffes are sociable, where aswhereas okapis live mainly solitary lives. Giraffes temporarily form herds of up to 20 individuals; these herds can be mixed or uniform groups of males and females, young and adults. Okapis are normally seen in mother-offspring pairs, although they occasionally gather around a prime food source. Giraffe are not territorial, but have ranges that can dramatically vary between&nbsp;—– {{Convert|5|and|654|km2|abbr=on}}&nbsp;—– depending on food availability, whereas okapis have individual ranges about {{Convert|2.5|-|5|km2|abbr=on}} in size.

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[[Category:Even-toed ungulatesGiraffes|*]]