Giraffes fall under the category of ungulate mammals with even toes. Herbivorous in nature, they fall under the ruminating animals’ class, just like cattle and deer. The giraffes come from the family named Giraffidae, of which another animal called okapi is also a part of. At one time, this Giraffidae family was found extensively on the planet, as revealed by several fossil specimens.

The most primitive species of this family is known to be Climacoceras, resembling the deer. Later on, there evolved animals of genera Samotherium and Paleotregus by the middle of the Miocene epoch, both of which had tall shoulders, not unlike those of modern giraffes. However, from the Pliocene epoch, the graffids’ variety and number became dramatically less, with only two species remaining. The Giraffa as we know today, developed during this Pliocene epoch. There were a number of other animals with long neck which evolved during this period, but they did not survive up to today.

The modern giraffe was first known to be mentioned by Linnaeus in the year, 1758. Linnaeus is famous for introducing the nomenclature system in the subject of biology. So he gave this animal the scientific name of Cervus camelopardalis. However, it was Brisson who introduced the genus, Giraffa four years later, in 1762. Even though today not many species of the Giraffidae family are left on the planet, there are many subspecies of giraffes, based on the geographical locations they are mostly found in, the coloration of their skin and appearance, etc.

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