What animal is cousin to the giraffe?
The only close relative of the giraffe is the okapi (Okapia johnstoni). The okapi has a similar body shape as a giraffe, however, with a much shorter neck relative to its body size.
Do giraffes have cousins?
Although the okapi has striped markings reminiscent of zebras, it is most closely related to the giraffe. The okapi and the giraffe are the only living members of the family Giraffidae….
| Okapi | |
|---|---|
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Giraffidae |
| Genus: | Okapia Lankester, 1901 |
| Species: | O. johnstoni |
What animals are in the giraffe family?
Giraffidaegiraffes and okapis. This family includes only two living species, the giraffe and the okapi.
Can a zebra and giraffe mate?
Okapis look like a cross between zebras and giraffes. In fact, it is the only living relative to the giraffe. In addition to long necks, okapis have reddish bodies, black-and-white striped legs and 12-inch, purple, prehensile tongues. The okapi’s gestation period is between 14 and 15 months.
What does giraffe taste like?
One Montana-based business called Giraffine claims to sell live animals as well as meat, which its website describes as “intensely flavored lean meat; It tastes very similar to horse meat but more tender.” A call to Giraffine was not immediately returned.
Are giraffe Bovids?
Giraffes and okapis are normally silent, but both have a range of vocalizations, including coughing, snorting, moaning, hissing, and whistling. Giraffes have been suggested to be able to communicate using infrasonic sounds like elephants and blue whales.
Are giraffes from dinosaurs?
No, giraffes are not related to dinosaurs. Dinosaurs lived about 245 and 66 million years ago, while giraffes existed only 8 million years ago. Giraffes didn’t come from dinosaurs like sauropods. They likely evolved and had long necks because it’s what their environment required them to have to survive.
Are there any living relatives of the giraffe?
Giraffes are one-of-a-kind…there’s nothing like them on earth. Or is there? The giraffe family tree is admittedly small, with most of its members long extinct, but the giraffe does have one living cousin, a cousin that more closely resembles their long, lost family members than today’s iconic giraffe.
How are the okapi and the giraffe alike?
The okapi has a similar body shape as a giraffe, however, with a much shorter neck relative to its body size. Okapis share other distinctive features with giraffe including unusual fur covered ossicones (horn-like structure), specialised teeth and tongue, and a ruminating four-chambered stomach. Interestingly, only the male okapi has ossicones.
What was the name of the early giraffe species?
During the Miocene era, 23 to 10 million years ago, there were several early giraffe species living at approximately the same time. These included the Canthumeryx, the Palaeotragus, the Giraffokeryx, and the Samotherium. Today’s okapi most closely resembles the Samotherium., although some scientists believe it descents from the Palaeotragus.
What kind of food does a giraffe eat?
Researchers have uncovered fossil remains that gives a glimpse into the diversity of the giraffidae family. This family of ruminants – mammals with specialized stomachs to digest plant-based foods that also includes deer, goats, sheep, and cows – was, at one time, spread throughout Africa and Eurasia.