Young giraffes are seen at their pen at the Qingdao Forest Wildlife World in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, July 14, 2013. (Photo: Xinhua)
For centuries, scientists believed all giraffes fall under one species. But a recent genetic research suggests that giraffes can actually be divided into four separate species.
The new findings published in the journal this week put the long-necked mammal under four species: the northern giraffe, southern giraffe, reticulated giraffe and Masai giraffe. And the four distinct lineages don't interbreed in the wild.
Tracking the distribution of seven specific genetic sequences which could help researchers to measure genetic diversity, the study found the result through nuclear DNA from skin biopsies of 190 giraffes.
Genetics can reveal new species, but it's not enough for guiding decisions about animal protection.
"So far, we haven't really been able to fully appreciate the power of genomics in conservation," said Aaron Shafer, a geneticist at Trent University in Peterborough, Canada.
