202 



K N O W L E DG E. 



[November 1, 189». 



Whereas, however, those of the latter animal are very 

 broad and short, in the giraffe they are extremely long and 

 slender, attaining in full-grown individuals a length of 

 some ten inches. This remarkable adherence to one 

 numerical type in the neck vertebrse is, indeed, a very 



Tlie OirafEc-. 



curious feature among mammals ; the extreme contrasts 

 in respect of lorm l)eing exhibited by those of the Green- 

 land whale, in which each vertebra is shortened to a broad 

 disc-like shape, and the giraffe, where it is ef[ually narrow 

 and elongated. 



As regards the height attained by the male of the tallest 

 of quadrupeds, there is, unfortunately, a lack of accurate 

 information, and since it is probable that the majority of 

 those now living are inferior in size to the largest 

 individuals which existed when the species was far more 

 numerous than at present, it is to be feared that this 

 deficiency in our knowledge is not very likely to be 

 remedied. By some writers the height of the male girafle 



is given at sixteen feet, and that of the female at fourteen 

 feet, but this is certainly below the reality. For instance, 

 Mr. H. A. Bryden states that a female he shot in southern 

 Africa measux-ed seventeen feet to the summits of the 

 horns ; while Sir S. Baker, whose experiences are derived 

 from the north-eastern portion of the continent, asserts 

 that a male will reach as much as nineteen feet, although, 

 most unfortunately, it is not mentioned whether the latter 

 height is merely an estimate, or is based upon actual 

 measurement. From the evidence of a very large, though 

 badly preserved specimen in the Natural History Museum, 

 it may, however, be inferred that fine males certainly reach 

 the imposing height of eighteen feet. 



Although this towering stature is the most obvious 

 external feature of the girafle, it is not one which would 

 of itself justify the naturalist in classing the animal as the 

 representative of a family apart from other ruminants ; 

 and we must accordingly inquire on what groimds such 

 separation is made. On the whole, the most distinctive 

 structural peculiarity of the giraffe is to be found in the 

 nature of its horns. These, as mentioned in our article on 

 " Horns and Antlers," are quite unlike those of any other 

 living ruminant, and take the form of a pair of upright 

 bony projections arising from the summit of the head in 

 both sexes, and completely covered during life with skin. 

 In the immature condition separate from the skull, these 

 horns become in the adult firmly attached to the latter ; 

 and below them, in the middle of the forehead, is another 

 lower and broader protuberance, sometimes spoken of as a 

 third horn. Obviously, these horns — for want of a better 

 name — are quite imlike the true horns of the oxen and 

 antelopes, or the antlers of the deer ; and this essential 

 difi'ereuce in their structure is alone quite sufficient to 

 justify the reference of the giraffe to a family all by itself. 

 When, however, we come to inquire whether the creature 

 is more nearly akin to the deer or to the hollow-horned 

 ruminants (as the oxen, antelopes, and their allies 

 are termed), we have a task of considerable difficulty. 

 Eelying mainly on the structure of its skull, and its 

 low-crowned grinding teeth, which are invested with 

 a peculiar rugose enamel having much the appearance of 

 the skin of the common black slug, some naturalists 

 speak of the giraffe as a greatly modified deer. A certain 

 justification for this view is, indeed, to be found in the 

 cu'cumstance that the liver of the giraffe, like that of the 

 deer, is usually devoid of a gall-bladder. Occasionally, 

 however, that appendage, which is so characteristic of the 

 hollow-horned ruminants, makes its appearance in the 

 giraffe, thus showing that no groat importance can be 

 attached to it one way or another. On the other hand, in 

 certain parts of its soft anatomy, the creature under con- 

 sideration comes very much closer to the antelopes and 

 their kin than to the deer. It would appear, therefore, on 

 the whole, that the girafle occupies a position midway 

 between the deer on the one hand and the antelopes on 

 the other ; while as neither of these three groups can be 

 regarded as the direct descendant of either of the other 

 two, it is clear that we must regard all three as divergent 

 branches from some ancient common stock. 



As regards general appearance, the girafle is too well 

 known to require description, but attention may be 

 directed to a few of its more striking external peculiarities. 

 One remarkable feature is the total lack of the small 

 lateral or spurious hoofs, which are present in the great 

 majority of ruminants, and attain relatively large dimen- 

 sions ill the reindeer and musk-deer. Indeed, the only 

 be taken as an indication of any affinity between the 

 are absent are certain antelopes ; but this absence cannot 

 other members of the whole group in which these hoofs 



