4 Species of Giraffe Explained: How Scientists Rethought the Classification of Giraffa

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Quick Take

• The official 4-species status was achieved only after reviewing recent genetic, morphological, and biogeographic studies on giraffes.

• The great reduction of price in genetic and genomic analyses allowed for new insights into giraffe lineages.

• Splitting giraffes from one into four species has large conservation implications.

• Three of the four new giraffe species are already likely threatened species.

For over 200 years, there has been just one species of giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis. This unmistakable African animal is easily recognized across the world. With their long necks and distinctive spots, giraffes are an iconic species of Africa.

Upon closer look, though, not all giraffes look the same. Some giraffes have structured spot patterns with distinct borders, giving their coats a more geometric appearance, while other giraffes have spots that appear more feathered and frayed at the edges, creating a star-like shape. These differences were one of the driving factors leading scientists to describe nine subspecies. That is, until recently.

Differences in coat patterns or even more significant morphological variations, though, aren’t enough to designate groups of animals into separate species. For example, chihuahuas and huskies look vastly different from one another, yet they are both members of the same species: domestic dogs. But these varied spots, along with wide geographic spread across Africa, and other morphological differences, led some to speculate whether the giraffe represented more than just a single species.

In August of 2025, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Species Survival Commission’s Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group (GOSG) Taxonomic Task Force determined that there are now four distinct species of giraffes, and that it would no longer be accurate to label them as a single species.

The role of genetics in the new giraffe species designations

What drove this change was much deeper than their appearance, although morphology did play a role; largely, the change resulted from what was found in the giraffe’s genes.

Dr. Michael B. Brown, Conservation Science Coordinator at Giraffe Conservation Foundation and Co-Chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group, explains, “In the past ten years, since the last IUCN Red List Assessment, several important studies were published, providing a growing body of literature supporting a review of how giraffes are classified for conservation assessments.”

One of those studies, published in 2016, Brown describes as “Foundational research showing, based on genetic data, that giraffes (are) clustered into four genetically distinct lineages rather than one species with many subspecies.” This study found deep divergences amongst the four now different species of giraffe.

In fact, some scientists even said the differences between some of the species of giraffe were as large as those between polar and brown bears, animals that differ dramatically in their appearance and lifestyle. For instance, brown bears are mostly terrestrial, while polar bears spend most of their life at sea and are considered marine mammals. Brown states, “This paper was one of the first to argue that giraffes merit splitting into multiple species based on deep divergence comparable to known separate species in other mammals.”

Morphological studies on giraffes

Even though the 2016 study played a strong role, as well as other genetic studies in the new species designations, morphology still played a part, along with geographical information. Scientists evaluated studies on giraffe bones, notably on their skull, and found differences between their ossicones, or the horn-like bumps on the top of their heads. Brown says ossicones are “Used in display and social interactions.”

These morphological differences, though, are different than the ones observed in dog breeds as mentioned in the example. Brown explains, “Although dogs show striking skull differences, these arise from recent artificial selection within a single interbreeding lineage and therefore form a continuum rather than discrete, evolutionarily independent groups. In contrast (in giraffes), they (scientists) can separate size from shape and reveal whether skeletal variation clusters into statistically distinct groups that correspond to separate lineages.”

The results, largely from this study, found those separate lineages. Brown says, “Researchers found distinct sexual dimorphism and divergent developmental trajectories between northern and southern giraffe clades…identifying significant cranial shape differences among all four giraffe species and even some subspecies.”

This paper was one of the first to argue that giraffes merit splitting into multiple species based on deep divergence comparable to known separate species in other mammals.

Dr. Michael B. Brown, Conservation Science Coordinator at Giraffe Conservation Foundation and Co-Chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group

Additionally, the four species of giraffe are all geographically isolated from one another and therefore cannot breed with each other, which is often an important criterion for species definitions. According to genetic research, they haven’t interbred for 280,000 years. This research found no hybrids in the wild, although some have occurred in captivity under artificial conditions.

Why designate new species of giraffes now?

Usually, when new species of mammals are described, it’s in smaller or more cryptic species like small mammals and bats, where scientists can easily overlook new species, not large and easy-to-see land animals like giraffes. The main reason that scientists were able to differentiate new species of giraffes only recently is because of technological advancements in genetic sequencing, which have brought down prices considerably. Previously, it could cost tens of thousands of dollars to run a single genome, whereas now, it can cost as little as $100.

These advancements finally made it affordable for scientists associated with conservation and nonprofit organizations to conduct extensive analyses on giraffes across their large range in Africa. The new genetic studies, combined with other research, necessitated a reevaluation of the species status by the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SCC) Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group.

But why weren’t the four new species of giraffes designated officially in 2016 with the landmark genetic study? Simply put, it’s a single study, and multiple lines of evidence were needed for species designations. Brown says, “For the IUCN SCC Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group to adopt any proposed giraffe taxonomic classification, we needed to undertake a thorough systematic review of all available studies distinguishing giraffe taxa.”

Deciding what constitutes a species is no easy task, as there are dozens of definitions. Brown discusses the approach used by the specialist group, saying, “Defining a species is a tricky exercise, largely because there are no universally accepted definitions for what actually constitutes a species. We leaned on the experiences of other (IUCN) specialist groups…in adopting a ‘traffic light assessment’ for taxonomic distinctions, weighing phenotypic evidence, genetic evidence, and biogeographical evidence for making these taxonomic distinctions.”

Brown continues to explain, “Ultimately, our report showed relatively strong support for genetic variation, strong biogeographic concurrence, and moderate phenotopic variation across the four species and their constituent subspecies.” The evidence combined, therefore provided strong support for the new species of giraffe.

Meet the new species of giraffes

There are now four species of giraffes: Maasai (Giraffa tippelskirchi), northern (Giraffa camelopardalis), reticulated (Giraffa reticulata), and southern giraffes (Giraffa giraffa).

Northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)

The Northern giraffe species ranges across parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic, as well as western Ethiopia, central and western Kenya, South Sudan, and Uganda.

Maasai giraffe (Giraffa tippelskirchi)

Masai giraffes are found in East Africa in southern Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

Reticulated giraffe (Giraffa reticulata)

The reticulated giraffe’s range spans from Somalia and northern Kenya into southern Ethiopia.

Southern giraffe (Giraffa giraffa)

Finally, the southern giraffe, as its name suggests, lives in the south, including South Africa, Angola, southern Botswana, Namibia, southern Zimbabwe, Zambia, and southwestern Mozambique.

What do the new species designations mean for giraffe conservation?

Splitting giraffes into multiple species has immediate and important consequences for conservation. This split will ultimately provide the different species with the specific plans they need to ensure healthy populations. For instance, creating four new species from one gives the impression that each species is now at greater risk, as population sizes are automatically smaller. Giraffes as a single species seemed much stronger at 140,000 individuals, but now some species will only amount to just a fraction of that, making it much more difficult for them to withstand threats. In fact, three of the four species are already speculated to be threatened.

Although each species will technically now be more at risk, separating giraffes into different species allows scientists to better protect them. As each species has unique threats, scientists, conservation organizations, and government officials can design more targeted conservation plans to address their needs.

Brown stresses the importance of this, and says “Recognizing the diversity of giraffe taxa and assessing them differently will provide much more nuance to the conservation stories of different giraffe across Africa, allowing us to better tailor our approaches to address the unique conservation threats and opportunities for each species”

For instance, the Northern giraffe, with about 7,000 individuals, is the most endangered species and suffers from overall political instability and poaching. Their numbers have declined by 70% from 1995.

Masai giraffes are more numerous, with approximately 44,000 individuals, but still face threats. They are most affected by the loss of habitat due to the conversion of savannas to pastures and fields for cattle.

But it’s not all bad news for giraffes. Targeted conservation programs work, as in the case of the Southern giraffe, because limited conservation dollars are spent focusing on minimizing threats exactly where they are needed. In the same time frame as the Northern giraffe, this species has more than doubled in its total numbers, reaching over 68,000 individuals.

Brown emphasizes the importance of the new classification and its impact on conservation: “The 2016 work showed the initial scientific signal of species-level divergence, while the 2025 IUCN reclassification is the official endorsement and consolidation of that and subsequent research into a consensus taxonomy for conservation use.” 

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