A collaborative study published in PLOS ONE (December 19, 2024) analyzed 515 giraffe skulls – the largest dataset ever assembled for medium to large wildlife – confirming four distinct giraffe species through 3D geometric morphometrics. The research, led by Dr. Nikolaos Kargopoulos from the University of Cape Town and the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, examined skull morphology across African populations. “When I embarked on this project, I did not expect to find such clear differences in the skull shapes of giraffe – before I started looking more closely, I thought a giraffe is just a giraffe,” said Dr. Kargopoulos, who traveled … Continue reading 3D Skull Analysis Confirms Four Distinct Giraffe Species