anatomy

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Giraffa camelopardalis

anatomy.

Closeup of the head of a giraffe at the Melbourne Zoo

Giraffe skeleton on display at the Museum of Osteology, Oklahoma City,

Oklahoma

Right hind leg of a Masai giraffe at San Diego Zoo

Fully grown giraffes stand 4.35.7 m (14.118.7 ft) tall, with males taller than
females.[36][37][38] The tallest recorded male was 5.88 m (19.3 ft) and the
tallest recorded female was 5.17 m (17.0 ft) tall.[36][39] The average weight
is 1,192 kg (2,628 lb) for an adult male and 828 kg (1,825 lb) for an adult
female[40] with maximum weights of 1,930 kg (4,250 lb) and 1,180 kg (2,600
lb) having been recorded for males and females, respectively.[37][38] Despite
its long neck and legs, the giraffe's body is relatively short.[41]:66 Located at
both sides of the head, the giraffe's large, bulging eyes give it good all-round
vision from its great height.[42]:25 Giraffes see in colour[42]:26 and their
senses of hearing and smell are also sharp.[18] The animal can close its
muscular nostrils to protect against sandstorms and ants.[42]:27

The giraffe's prehensile tongue is about 45 cm (18 in) long.[37][38] It is

purplish-black in colour, perhaps to protect against sunburn, and is useful for
grasping foliage, as well as for grooming and cleaning the animal's nose.
[42]:27 The upper lip of the giraffe is also prehensile and useful when
foraging. The lips, tongue, and inside of the mouth are covered in papillae to
protect against thorns.[7]

File:Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata-atTobuZoo-2012.ogv

(video) A pair of giraffes at Tobu Zoo, in Saitama, Japan
The coat has dark blotches or patches (which can be orange, chestnut,
brown, or nearly black in colour[18]) separated by light hair (usually white or
cream in colour[18]). Male giraffes become darker as they age.[35] The coat

pattern has been claimed to serve as camouflage in the light and shade
patterns of savannah woodlands.[28] While adult giraffes standing among
trees and bushes are hard to see at even a few metres' distance, they
actively move into the open to gain the best view of an approaching predator,
obviating any benefit that camouflage might bring. Instead, the adults rely on
their size and ability to defend themselves. However, camouflage appears to
be important for calves, which spend a large part of the day in hiding, away
from their mothers; further, over half of all calves die within a year, so
predation is certainly important. It appears, therefore, that the spotted coat
of the giraffe functions as camouflage for the young, while adults simply
inherit this coloration as a by-product.[10] The skin underneath the dark
areas may serve as windows for thermoregulation, being sites for complex
blood vessel systems and large sweat glands.[43] Each individual giraffe has
a unique coat pattern.[35]

The skin of a giraffe is mostly gray.[40] Its thickness allows the animal to run
through thorn bush without being punctured.[42]:34 The fur may serve as a
chemical defence, as its parasite repellents give the animal a characteristic
scent. At least 11 main aromatic chemicals are in the fur, although indole and
3-methylindole are responsible for most of the smell. Because the males have
a stronger odour than the females, the odour may also have sexual function.
[44] Along the animal's neck is a mane made of short, erect hairs.[7] The
one-metre (3.3-ft) tail ends in a long, dark tuft of hair and is used as a
defense against insects.[42]:36