Story highlights For centuries, scientists have wrongly placed giraffes under one speciesThey now fall under four species that include the southern and Masai giraffes(CNN) For centuries, scientists believed all giraffes fall under one species. But genetics now show the lanky creatures are not one species, but rather four different ones, changing the game for the world's tallest mammals. The new findings appeared in the journal Current Biology this week, highlighting the need for further studies of the four genetically isolated species, according to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, which was part of the research. Until now, the gentle African mammals were all classified under the Giraffa camelopardalis species. The new study puts them under four species that include the northern giraffe, southern giraffe, reticulated giraffe and Masai giraffe.

Source: CNN September 10, 2016 07:03 UTC