Giraffe biology rewritten: they are four separate species, says DNA

Giraffes have previously been recognised to be a single species divided into several sub-species.

But this latest study of their DNA suggests that four groups of giraffes have not cross-bred and exchanged genetic material for millions of years.

This is a clear indication that they have evolved into distinct species.

The study published in the journal Current Biology has rewritten the biology of Earth's tallest mammal.

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Those four species include:

southern giraffe (Giraffa giraffa),

Masai giraffe (G. tippelskirchi),

reticulated giraffe (G. reticulata)

northern giraffe (G. camelopardalis), which includes the Nubian giraffe (G. c. camelopardalis) as a distinct but related subspecies.

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Matthew Cobb, professor of zoology at the University of Manchester explained that the "four groups of giraffes had "been separated for 1-2 million years, with no evidence of genes being exchanged between them".

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