Cranial Morphology Confirms There Really Are Four Giraffe Species

Originally assumed to comprise just one species, new research confirms 50 years of detailed studies that find giraffes are comprised of at least four cryptic species.

Reticulated giraffe, Giraffa reticulata, Samburu National Park, Kenya. (Credit: copyright by Giraffe Conservation Foundation, image appears here with kind permission)

How many species of giraffe are there? Originally, it was widely assumed that there is just one species of giraffe with nine or so geographic varieties that are difficult to distinguish based on their physical appearance. However, multiple studies over the past 50 years have highlighted the distinctions between different types of giraffe based on their pelage patterns, cranial and postcranial morphology, genetics, ecology, and behavior. Yet despite these identifiable differences, giraffe are still classified as just one species.