Giraffe Juvenile Cervical Vertebra
$96.00
The Giraffe, reaching heights up to nineteen feet, is the tallest terrestrial animal living today. Native to Africa the Giraffe feeds on leaves that are out of reach of most other herbivores. The horns of the giraffe are bumpy hair covered knobs that grow slowly throughout the animals life.
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Description
Giraffe Juvenile Cervical Vertebra measures 6 inches. Giraffe Juvenile Cervical Vertebra is museum quality polyurethane resin cast. Made in USA. The vertebra featured in the picture is Vertebra #2. Scientific name Giraffa. Our precise giraffe vertrebra can be used as a teaching tool, museum giraffe exhibit, bone home decor, or office bone decor. Choose Giraffe vertebra C1 through C7.
The Giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus Giraffa. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth.
Seven large, elongated cervical vertebrae support their long neck. The tall dorsal processes of their thoracic vertebrae are necessary for attaching the large neck muscles they need to lift their heavy heads and account for the strong slope of their back.
A remarkable adaptation necessitated by their unusual body structure is a complicated network of blood vessels known as the rete mirabile, which is located in their neck just below their heads. The rete mirabile serves to stabilize their cranial blood pressure during the extreme pressure changes that occur when a giraffe raises and lowers its head to drink. Without these valves and “miracle network” of veins and arteries, they would be exposed to fainting or strokes from the drastic pressure changes to their brain.
The neck is multi functional, allowing them to eat from high branches, allowing them to see a good distance, and providing them a defensive weapon.
The Giraffe’s chief distinguishing characteristics are its extremely long neck and legs, its horn-like ossicones, and its spotted coat patterns.
Their food source is leaves, fruits, and flowers of woody plants, primarily acacia species, which they browse at heights most other herbivores cannot reach.
Lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and African wild dogs may prey upon giraffes. Giraffes live in herds of related females and their offspring or bachelor herds of unrelated adult males.
The Nubian giraffe (G. c. camelopardalis), is found in eastern South Sudan and southwestern Ethiopia, in addition to Kenya and Uganda. It has sharply defined chestnut-colored spots surrounded by mostly white lines, while undersides lack spotting. The median lump is particularly developed in the male.
It is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as vulnerable to extinction and has been extirpated from many parts of its former range.
Giraffes are still found in numerous national parks and game reserves, but estimates as of 2016 indicate there are approximately 97,500 members of Giraffa in the wild.
The Nubian giraffe is very common in captivity. A group is kept at Al Ain Zoo in the United Arab Emirates.
Giraffe Facts:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Giraffidae
Genus: Giraffa
Type species: Cervus camelopardalis
Conservation status: Vulnerable
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Additional information
Weight | 1.5 lbs |
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Dimensions | 6 in |
Giraffe Facts | Kingdom: Animalia |
Juvenile Vertebra # | M312-C1 |
World Giraffe Day - June 21st | Every year, on June 21st, the world commemorates World Giraffe Day. This day was initiated by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation in 2014 to celebrate the world’s tallest animal. This anchor day is marked globally to create awareness of the challenges that giraffes face and the advocate for their protection. |