Giraffes May Be Six Separate Species

The BBC reports on research, published in BMC Biology, pointing to the possibility that there may be at least six species of giraffe in Africa. Quoting: "'Using molecular techniques we found that giraffes can be classified into six groups that are reproductively isolated and not interbreeding,' David Brown, the lead author of the study and a geneticist at... UCLA told BBC News. 'The results were a surprise because although the giraffes look different, if you put them in zoos, they breed freely.'"

Re:Breeding?

[ConanG]

you mean like:

Reticulated Giraffe
Masai Giraffe
Rothschild Giraffe
South African Giraffe
Thornicroft Giraffe
Nigerian Giraffe

Re:Species or subspecies?

[Azzmodan]

That would make tigers and lions the same species, since there have been fertile offspring. I'd say there's a lot wiggle room in the definition.

Re:in that case ...

[Anonymous Coward]

The fact that these giraffes interbreed in captivity but not in the wild may suggest a more social or territorial element to their reproductive habits, as opposed to some purely genetic aversion/incompatibility. Not entirely unlike the one you describe above. Again, I don't know how much I really care when we are speaking of different SUBspecies with no real difference other than region and spot patterns.