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Which type of giraffe would you like to see more often in zoos?

Discussion in 'Quizzes, Competitions & Games' started by Sarus Crane, 24 Apr 2020.

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Which type of giraffe would you like to see more often in zoos?

  1. Nubian Giraffe

    4 vote(s)
    11.4%

  2. Masai Giraffe

    11 vote(s)
    31.4%

  3. Rothschild's Giraffe

    4 vote(s)
    11.4%

  4. Kordofan Giraffe

    6 vote(s)
    17.1%

  5. Angolan Giraffe

    8 vote(s)
    22.9%

  6. South African Giraffe

    2 vote(s)
    5.7%
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  1. TheEthiopianWolf03

    TheEthiopianWolf03 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    3 May 2017
    Posts:
    723
    Location:
    United States of America
    I'm still a bit confused about current giraffe taxonomy. What's the current status of giraffes right now?
     
    TheEthiopianWolf03, 2 Jun 2020
    #21
  2. ZooBinh

    ZooBinh Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    2 Sep 2017
    Posts:
    3,370
    Location:
    Ohio
    There's the 4 species taxonomy : Northern, Southern, Reticulated, and Masai. Northern ssp. include Nubian, Kordofan, and West African with Rothschild's being an ecomorph of nominate ssp. (Nubian). Southern is split into South African and Angolan. Reticulated and Masai are monotypic.
     
    ZooBinh, 2 Jun 2020
    #22
    TheEthiopianWolf03, Jambo and Hipporex like this.
  3. Fallax

    Fallax Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    5 Mar 2017
    Posts:
    2,324
    Location:
    Wales
    And that ia only 1 out of who knows how many taxonomies!
     
    Fallax, 2 Jun 2020
    #23
    ZooBinh likes this.
  4. lintworm

    lintworm Well-Known Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    27 Oct 2008
    Posts:
    5,509
    Location:
    Europe
    There are 4 main theories.

    1) The traditional view of only 1 Giraffe species, this is the status quo, but seems to lose support quickly

    2) 8 Giraffe species, basically splitting each currently recognized subspecies, but lumping Rotschildt's Giraffe into Nubian Giraffe. This one is not supported by genetic data, but follows strict PSC approach

    3) 4 species theory, which is the one mentioned by @ZooBinh , and this one seems to be best supported currently

    4) 3 species theory, this one is very similar to number 3 but lumps reticulata into camelopardalis.
     
    lintworm, 2 Jun 2020
    #24
    TheEthiopianWolf03, ZooBinh and amur leopard like this.
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