Giraffe vertebrae how many

By comparison, the body of the common house mouse Mus musculus is only around 10 centimetres long, its tail contributing more to the overall length. Mice, such as this yellow-necked mouse, have the same number of bones in their necks as giraffes. However, despite outward appearances, the small rodent bears one striking similarity to Earth's tallest living terrestrial creature on a skeletal level.

Mice also have seven cervical vertebrae in their necks, though extremely small compared to those of a giraffe.

Mice and giraffes experienced two very different evolutionary journeys from their common ancestor to end up as the vastly different animals they are today.

With few exceptions, such as manatees and sloths, almost all mammals - including humans - possess seven neck bones. Early ancestors of the ocean's biggest animals once walked on land. Follow their extraordinary journey from shore to sea.

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Skip to content. Read later. You don't have any saved articles. Graduate student Ms. Megu Gunji and Professor Hideki Endo at the University of Tokyo dissected giraffe carcasses donated from zoos around Japan, and described the musculoskeletal structure around neck-trunk junction of the giraffe.

They found modifications of the musculoskeletal structure in this region, and demonstrated that the eighth vertebra first thoracic vertebra of the giraffe possesses high mobility similar to the cervical vertebrae. This suggests that the first thoracic vertebra, normally part of the body, functions as part of the neck in the giraffe.

The additional neck vertebra acts as a fulcrum in neck movement, and contributes to enlarging a reachable space of head and neck in adult giraffes by about 50 cm. This unique vertebra enables the giraffe to both eat leaves from treetops and to drink water on the ground. This provides a new insight into the developmental mechanisms behind body structure and form in humans and other mammals. Just kidding. Adam P. He is committed to the wellness of the patients he treats.

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This point actually inserts some debate as to whether giraffes have an extra vertebra… The combination of these bony changes allows the 7 cervical vertebrae in giraffes to be as long as the entire human body. At some point giraffes also developed their elongated legs along a parallel evolutionary track. Just kidding Check out the gallery below for some more pictures!