Until now, scientists have identified only one species of giraffe consisting of several subspecies. But, according to the most comprehensive genetic analysis of giraffe relationships to date, giraffes are actually not one species, but four. All of them are on the red list of endangered species
Until now, scientists have identified only one species of the noble animal with a long neck - the giraffe, and believed that it consisted of several subspecies. But, according to the most comprehensive genetic analysis of the giraffe, it turns out that giraffes are actually not one species, but four. For comparison, the genetic differences between the giraffe species are at least similar to the differences between the polar bear and the brown bear.
The unexpected findings, reported in Current Biology on September 8, underscore the urgent need for further study of the four genetically isolated species for better conservation efforts of the world's tallest mammal, the researchers say.
"We were very surprised, because the morphological pattern differences in the fur of the giraffes are limited." says Axel Janke, a geneticist in the Department of Biodiversity and Climate Research Center at Goethe University in Germany. The assumption was that giraffes have similar ecological requirements in all their habitats, but the field was not studied."
Giraffes are in a dramatic decline in their habitats in Africa. Their numbers have declined considerably over the past three decades, from more than 150,000 individuals to less than 100,000. Even so, researchers say research on giraffes is sparse compared to other large animals, such as elephants, rhinos, gorillas, and lions.
About five years ago, Julian Pansy asked the Giraffe Conservation Fund in Namibia Minka for help with the genetic testing of the giraffes. Pansy wanted to know how similar (or not) the giraffes living in different parts of Africa are to each other, whether moving giraffes to parks or other protected areas could create new subspecies.
In the new study, Janka and his research group examined the DNA samples taken from skin biopsies of 190 giraffes collected by Pansi and his team all over Africa, including from war and crisis zones. The extensive sampling included populations from all nine previously recognized giraffe subspecies.
The genetic analysis shows that there are four separate groups of giraffes that apparently do not interbreed in the wild, and as a result, they say, they should be recognized as four separate giraffe species. That's four
The species are inclusive
(1) Southern giraffe (Giraffa Giraffa),
(2) Masai giraffe (tippelskirchi G),
(3) reticulated giraffe (reticulata G), f
(4) Northern giraffe (G camelopardalis), which includes the Nubian giraffe (GG Camelopardalis) as a distinct subspecies. The elusive Nubian giraffe from Ethiopia and South Sudan was first described about 300 years ago, Pansi says, and its population now appears to be a fraction of that of the northern giraffe.
The discovery has significant implications for the conservation of the four species. Giraffe experts at the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) have determined that giraffes should be placed on the IUCN Red List due to their rapid decline in numbers over the past 30 years. "Now, when it is clear that it is four different species, the status of each of them is expected to cause it to be included in the red list, says Pansy. "Working in collaboration with African governments, the continued support of the Foundation and giraffe conservation partners can highlight the importance of each of these endangered species, and we hope to begin taking targeted conservation efforts and support increased protection for them."
"For example," he adds, "the population of the northern giraffe has decreased to about 4,750 individuals in the wild, and that of the reticulated giraffe is less than 8,700. These numbers make them the largest endangered mammals in the entire world.
Yanka and Pansi say they will analyze the rate of gene flow between the giraffe species in more detail. In addition to expanding data on the ecological distribution of the species, they want to better understand the factors limiting gene flow and the differentiation of giraffes into four species and several subspecies.
to the notice of the researchers
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A. Benner,
If I may ask, are you part of the scientific community? I mean, are your accusations based on empirical knowledge that you've seen or are they just ideas that don't necessarily have anything to do with reality?
Assaf Rosenthal is right
This is not a real discovery and it is not a subspecies
It is all about different varieties of the same species
There are areas where the term "different races of the same species" is used,
For example in the field of domestic animals, for example: wolfdog and cocker spaniel.
There are other areas, for example fruits and vegetables, where the term is used
"Different varieties of the same species" for example: an apple of the "Yonatan" variety and an apple of the "Spadona" variety.
It should be noted that the article raises a growing problem in the field of scientific research.
The problem is that today there is a lot of pressure on researchers in the various fields of science to produce and publish a large number of "scientific articles". This pressure comes from two main reasons:
1]. The need for the various scientific (professional) journals and websites to publish with regular frequency a required, and more or less regular, volume of articles, in order to justify their reputation in the eyes of their target audience.
2]. In recent years, in the various fields of science, the method has been established according to which the main (and often the only) criterion for evaluating a scientist is the number of articles he has published.
The pressure to multiply in scientific publications often leads many scientists to publish idle articles reporting idle research.
The "political correctness" fad that has spread throughout the world in the last 20 years has also penetrated the field of scientific research and means that almost no scientist dares, "for reasons of politeness" to cancel the results of another scientist's research.
"Mini" giraffes (yes) breed among them!
So is the brown bear and the polar bear,
But the meeting between them is rare because of the different living areas,
Therefore:
If the geneticists continue with the same sorting method according to "genetic analysis" it will turn out that:
The human species (Homo) must be divided into a number of species,
or alternately declare that chimpanzees and humans are the same species,
To avoid "delusional" conclusions, it is desirable (and appropriate) to return to the "ancient" sorting method
According to the definition of: "He who gives birth to fertile offspring is a member of the same sex".
Asaf
According to what I read - these are indeed 4 species that do not breed among themselves. Therefore, it has significance in the matter of conservation.
Sounds like a delusional article by researchers looking for publicity. There is a very clear definition between subspecies and species. Different species cannot produce fertile offspring compared to a subspecies. So what exactly does the DNA or color of the fur matter?