Feb 23, 2024 · While the giraffe as we know it is native to Africa, more than 20-25 million years ago their ancestors also roamed along Europe and Asia. There aren’t many fossils of them, but some information has allowed scientists to come up with some evolution theories.

Giraffes, it turns out, are not the first species in their lineage to have a long neck — they just have the longest one. The species started off with a shorter neck, 7.5 million years...

The changes from extensive forests to more open habitats, which began 8 mya, are believed to be the main driver for the evolution of giraffes. [6] During this time, tropical plants disappeared and were replaced by arid C4 plants, and a dry savannah emerged across eastern and northern Africa and western India.

Early giraffids, unlike their long-necked descendants, had a more deer-like appearance during the Miocene epoch. Today, there are four distinct species of giraffe with seven subspecies, each occupying specific regions within Africa.

Oct 9, 2015 · Scientists have long puzzled over why giraffes would grow such an ungainly extremity. After all, the only other living member of the giraffe family, the okapi, has a stubby neck and munches on...

Jun 3, 2022 · Giraffe necks evolved not only for feeding on tall trees but also for male combat, where longer necks provide advantages in dominance battles.

Nov 24, 2015 · Samotherium, which lived in the open woodlands of Eurasia about 7 million years ago, had a neck about 1 meter long—about half the length of that of today’s giraffes. (And like the vast majority of mammals, from tiny mice to towering giraffes, it had seven neck vertebrae.)

Nov 25, 2015 · For years, there has been scant fossil evidence showing how the giraffe evolved to have such an admirably long neck. But now, the remains of a 7-million-year-old creature with a shorter...

Oct 7, 2015 · Giraffes aren’t the only animals to have evolved impressively-long necks. The sauropod dinosaurs and aquatic plesiosaurs, for example, stretched out to ludicrous lengths both by adding...

In summary, the theories of giraffe neck evolution—ranging from resource acquisition strategies to reproductive success—highlight a multifaceted understanding of natural selection's role in shaping species over time.