352 GIRAFFE GROUP 



already cited are sufficient to distinguish the family from the hollow- 

 horned ruminants {BovidcE) on the one hand, and from the deer 

 {Cewidcs) on the other, nothing would be gained by referring to them 

 in detail on the present occasion. It may, however, be well to mention 

 that although the family is now confined to Africa south of the Sahara, 

 it was represented during the latter portion of the Tertiary period in 

 southern and western Europe and throughout a large extent of Asia. 



Giraffes — the tallest of all mammals — have a pair of conical horns 

 covered with skin on the crown of the head, a shorter horn in the 

 middle of the forehead, and in some cases a pair of rudimentary horns 

 at the hind extremity of the skull. The young have tufts of hair in 

 place of the paired horns, and a dark patch of hair where the middle 

 horn subsequently grows. Although somewhat narrow, the ears are 

 rather large ; the muzzle is broad and hairy, with slit- like nostrils 

 which can be closed at will ; face-glands are present, and the tongue 

 is long and extensile. The neck and withers are maned, and the 

 tufted tail reaches about to the hocks. The blotched or network type 

 of colouring — quite unlike any met with either in the Bovidcs or the 

 Cervidce — may be cited as another distinctive feature of the genus. 

 The upper cheek-teeth have short and broad crowns. In addition to 

 unusual lightness, the skull is remarkable for the elevation of the front 

 plane of the forehead and face above the eyes, and likewise for the 

 large size of the unossified space behind the nose-bones. 



Giraffes are to be found, in suitable localities, over the greater part 

 of southern and eastern Africa as far north as Kordofan and Nubia ; 

 in Central Africa they are known to occur in the Lado district and 

 farther south in the heart of Congo territory ; while on the western 

 side of the continent they have been recorded from Angola, southern 

 Nigeria, and the Lake Tchad district. With such an enormous 

 geographical range, it may be taken for granted that giraffes must 

 exhibit a considerable amount of local variation — either racial or 

 specific. As a matter of fact, it has for many years been known to 

 naturalists and sportsmen that giraffes from different parts of Africa 

 display considerable variation as regards markings, colour, and the 

 degree of development of the median horn on the forehead, which 

 may indeed be practically absent ; and distinct specific or subspecific 

 names have been from time to time assigned to these local forms. It 

 is, however, only recently that anything definite with regard to the 

 distinctive characteristics and range of these variations has been re- 

 corded, and even now our information on this subject is very far from 

 complete. 



