Giraffes, with their distinctive body shape and variations in coat patterns, have long been an example in evolutionary biology teachings. They are a textbook example of how species adapt to their surroundings and survive under harsh conditions. Despite this, scientists and conservationists still grapple with understanding the evolutionary history of giraffes.
Giraffes, with their distinctive body shape and variations in coat patterns, have long been an example in evolutionary biology teachings. They are a textbook example of how species adapt to their surroundings and survive under harsh conditions. Despite this, scientists and conservationists still grapple with understanding the evolutionary history of giraffes.
Giraffes occur throughout most of the savanna landscapes in sub-Saharan Africa. Fewer than 70,000 are left; a sharp decline from the estimated 150,000 in the 1980s. This makes it even more relevant to understand their diversity, as increased conservation efforts are needed to safeguard this diversity for the future.
However, scientists still struggle with how different populations are related to each other, and the number of species they represent. The International Union for Conservation of Nature currently recognizes giraffes as a single species. Other studies suggest the existence of two, three, four or even six species.
The debate surrounding giraffe taxonomy, which deals with the classification of species, may sound like a purely scientific exercise. But taxonomy often guides conservation efforts. Treating all giraffe populations as a single species may obscure unique genetic lineages. To conserve biodiversity, it is necessary to accurately identify and understand the distribution of diversity, between and within species.
Our recent study delves into the genomic landscape of giraffes, improving our understanding of giraffe diversity.
By analyzing the entire DNA of 90 giraffes from 29 locations in Africa across their natural range, we reconstructed the giraffe’s evolutionary past. Our findings reveal strong differentiation between populations of giraffes, identifying four major lineages:
northern giraffes (west and central Africa)
reticulated giraffes (Horn of Africa)
Masai giraffes (east Africa)
southern giraffes (southern Africa).
