trezor.io
Rate this file (Rating : 5 / 5 with 1 votes)
baby giraffe
trezor.io

Baby Giraffe

Taxonomy and evolution
The giraffe is one of only two living species of the family Giraffidae, along with the okapi. The family was once much more extensive, with over 10 fossil genera described. The giraffids evolved from a 3 m (9.8 ft) tall antelope-like mammal that roamed Europe and Asia some 30–50 million years ago. The earliest known giraffid was Climacoceras, which still resembled deer, having large antler-like ossicones. It first appeared in the early Miocene epoch. Later examples include the genera Palaeotragus and Samotherium, which appeared in the early-to-mid-Miocene. They were both tall at the shoulder, and had developed the simple, unbranched ossicones of modern giraffids, but still had relatively short necks. From the late Pliocene onwards, the variety of giraffids drastically declined, until only the two surviving species remained. The modern genus Giraffa evolved during the Pliocene epoch, and included a number of other long-necked species, such as Giraffa jumae, that do not survive today.
The giraffe was one of the many species first described by Linnaeus in 1758. He gave it the binomial name of Cervus camelopardalis in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae. Brisson erected the genus Giraffa in 1762.

File information
Filename:368430.jpg
Album name:Fauna & Flora
Rating (1 votes):55555
Keywords:#baby #giraffe
Filesize:45 KiB
Date added:Mar 28, 2011
Dimensions:700 x 464 pixels
Displayed:45 times
URL:displayimage.php?pid=368430
Favorites:Add to Favorites